Bust of bronze statue of Goddess Anahit to be put up for auction, starting price- € 850
BlogosphereSofia Khachatrian posted a record on her Facebook page, in which she noted that the bust of Goddess Anahit from British Museum was brought to the Museum of Archaeology of Leiden and soon will be put up for auction, the starting price of a bronze bust is 850 Euro.
Bust, gilded bronze statue of Goddess Anahit, which was found in Erindzhe, near Erzurum (modern Turkey) in 1870, now is in the British Museum. A copy is exhibited in the Museum of History in Yerevan.
Recall, on March 7, 2012 near British Embassy in Armenia Youth Foundation of Armenia organized a campaign for the return of fragments of the statue of Goddess Anahit from British Museum in Armenia. Youth Foundation of Armenia, together with the Minister of Science and Education transmitted to UK text messages demanding the return of fragments of the statue, as well as the signatures of representatives of young people who have joined this initiative. On February 20-27 Youth Foundation of Armenia organized the collection of signatures. Around 20,000 young people from the capital and 10 regions of Armenia joined the campaign to collect signatures. The letter, addressed to British Ambassadors in Armenia Katherine Jane Leach and Jonathan James Aves, particularly noted: "Many museums around the world keep exhibited many works - samples of Armenian culture. Among them - a bronze head and hands of Goddess Anahit is kept in British Museum. We urge the return of these cultural relics to Armenia, since the value of art and history should be stored in the countries where they were created."