Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 1. (2019)
Marius-Mihai Ciută: Two Sculptural Pieces Recently Returned to the National Cultural Heritage
TWO SCULPTURAL PIECES RECENTLY RETURNED TO THE NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE Marius Mihai CIUTÄ* During the last 20 years, the phenomenon of poaching the archaeological sites has been developed in Romania, in order to obtain artefacts, which can be later capitalized through the illegal trade on the black market of antiques. Many decontextualized archaeological pieces - some of them of inestimable value - now belong to unauthorized collections some of which have been the subject of judicial investigations for the purpose of recovery of the artefacts but also the information regarding their discovery. The present study discusses two sculptural pieces, ‘discovered’ in a so called: ‘private collection of a citizen from Alba Iulia. The data obtained through the judicial investigations, corroborated with the typological-stylistic and functional analyses, concludes for the origin of artefacts in the area of Bucerdea Gránoasá village (Búzásbocsárd, Alba County) and in the roman antique city of Apulum. Keywords: private collection, penal files, artefacts, Roman, Romanesque Cuvinte cheie: colecfie privatä, dosare penale, sculpturä, epoca romanä, románk The last 15 years represented for the field bibliography in Romania an obvious increase of studies and articles wherein there are published lots of decontextualized1 artefacts recovered during judicial investigations, from various owners, pieces that made the scope of investigation of certain criminal files. The phenomenon of collecting valuable cultural items is a natural one, however during the last decades it became increasingly popular in the Romanian society, while unfortunately the society does not have positive traditions and proper administrative background concerning the collection of cultural artefacts as well as their trade market. The two sculptural artefacts making the object of this study belong to the category of archaeological items susceptible to belong to the national cultural heritage, turned under various circumstances, illicit, to be ‘displayed’ in improper conditions, within so called ‘private collections’, most of the times unauthorized. The driving force behind the habit to collect such cultural pieces is the desire to obtain financial benefits as a result of the treasuring up/capitalization of ' M. M. Ciutä, Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, RO, mariusciuta@yahoo.com 1 Sirbu et AL. 2005; Ferencz-Rädeanu 2002; Ciutä 2013; Ciutä 2014; Borangic-Ciutä 2014; Ciutä-Ciutä 2015; Plantos-Ciutä 2016; Ciutä-Borangic 2016; Borangic-Bädescu 2017. The artefacts where the subject of a criminal case under the supervision of the Prosecutors Office attached to the Alba Iulia Courthouse, no. 370/P/2018, initiated on the occasion of exploitation of data from open sources, followed by the unavailability of a lot of artefacts susceptible of belonging to the national cultural heritage, whose protection regime is stipulated by the specialized legislation (OG 43/2000 republished; Law 182/2000; Law 422/2001). The purpose of such criminal cases is to clarify the circumstances wherein such items in most cases have been illegally owned within so-called private collections, namely their unavailability and integration into museum collections. The legal regime of archaeological artefacts stolen from protected archaeological sites on the territory of Romania is regulated by the normative acts in force, and there is already considerable jurisprudence in this field (see Lazär 2008, 125-176). The criminal file was solved and the unavailable goods entered the museums collection. MARISIA 1, 2019, p. 71-78.
