Missing Turkish Ceramic Wall Panel Found in Louvre

The cinis were removed and replaced with fake ones during the restoration of the Tomb of the Sultan Selim II at the turn of the twentieth century and taken out the country. Lost for 100 years, the cinis are among the masterpieces of the Turkish ceramic tile art. The stolen encaustic tiles are said to be among the masterpieces of Turkish tile artwork. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism had no information about the tile’s whereabouts.

The wall panel at the entrance of the Sultan Selim II Tomb is made up of about 60 tiles. It is said that under the pretext of restoration, the panel had been replaced with fake tiles and had been sold to the Louvre Museum in France, in 1895, by collector Albert Sorlin Dorigny.

Experts describe the robbery as one of the most professional in history and stated that the tiles are among the most rare and precious examples of Turkish tile artwork. Below the panel exhibited in the Museum, it is written, "Sultan Selim II tomb’s tiles, found in the treasury of the Hagia Sophia." It is being exhibited in the "Art of Islam" section of the museum, under the inventory number 3919/2-265.

The Ministry of Culture, until now, has done nothing to recover these symbols of Turkey’s cultural legacy.

Editorial Note: The Cini: Piece of earthenware decorated with opaque colored glazes and motives that are characteristics of the Turkish art.

Abdullah Kilic / Paris / FRANCE