SPAIN: An 11th-hour decision by London auction house Christie's prevented five 10th-century wooden carved beams going under the hammer. The beams are described in the catalogue as coming from the Mezquita, the cathedral in the Spanish city of Cordoba, and were a part of the sale of Islamic art at Christie's yesterday.
The six-metre beams, valued at between €150,000 and €450,000 - the most valuable ones still bear the original natural colours used by Arab artists - formed part of the roof and ceiling of the 8th-century mosque, which is considered a masterpiece of Islamic architecture. After the Moors were expelled from Spain in the 13th century, the Mezquita (mosque) - a world heritage site - was converted into the unique cathedral-within-a-mosque it remains today.
The beams were taken from the building during restoration work in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the pieces removed from the site were stored in the cathedral and in the episcopal palace. Nothing more was heard of them until they emerged in London at the beginning of this year. They were almost certainly not in the building during an inventory of the Mezquita in 1928 and could well have left the country even before that date. Christie's have not revealed the name of the vendor, whom they describe as "a European collector", but they say they are satisfied that the ownership is legitimate.
The Spanish ministry of culture has ordered an investigation into the ownership. The date of their removal remains critical to the legal rights of the artifacts: the 1983 law of historical patrimony prohibits the export of artworks and artefacts of more than 100 years of age without a special licence. They confirm that no application for a licence has ever been granted nor was one received.
Minister of culture Carmen Calvo said: "We are investigating to discover what happened to them and to ascertain how, when and why they left Spain." The temporary suspension of the sale was "the best solution" but the successful conclusion would be for the beams to be returned to their rightful home.
The ministry and the Chapter House of Cordoba cathedral are conducting the case jointly, represented by lawyer José Maria de Lorenzo. "We have halted the sale and will now begin negotiations with Christie's," he said. The cathedral maintains it is still the rightful owner of the artefacts but says it has no intention of buying them back. Fr Fernando Cruz-Conde, a lawyer and canon of the Mezquita, has no doubt about the ownership. "We now have to clarify how they left Spain and who took them."