The Scottish Museum lost a Rodin sculpture and almost 2 thousand exhibits

The association of public museums in Glasgow – Glasgow Museums – cannot establish the location of just under 2 thousand exhibits, including very valuable ones. Among the missing is a sculpture by Auguste Rodin, whose value is now estimated at £3 million.

The plaster sculpture “Jean d’Er”, which one of the Glasgow museums acquired from the author himself in 1901, is among more than 1,750 exhibits, the location of which cannot be determined by the city association of public museums in Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city. According to BBCinformation about this is contained in Glasgow Museums’ official response to a journalistic request under the Freedom of Information Act.

The sculpture is part of the sculptural group “Citizens of Calais”, created by Rodin at the request of the mayor of Calais in 1889 in memory of one of the tragic episodes of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France (1337–1453). In 1347, the English, who besieged Calais for 11 months, promised to spare the city if its eminent citizens sacrificed their lives for it.

The sculptural group depicts six citizens of Calais, who walk in long shirts, barefoot, with bare heads and ropes around their necks, and carry the keys of the city to the English. One of those walking is Jean d’Er, he is carrying the keys to Calais.

There are 12 bronze copies of the original sculpture, as well as several plaster copies of individual figures in the composition, which are exhibited in museums and galleries around the world.

The bronze sculptural composition, in particular, is located in the park next to the British Parliament buildings in London. IN at the disposal of Glasgow Museums there is another, bronze, copy of this sculpture, donated to the city in 1944.

Missing from the Glasgow Museums collection, the sculpture was last shown at an open-air exhibition in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, in 1949. According to documents, the sculpture received some damage during this exhibition. Then traces of her are lost.

The museum association explained to the BBC that employees have been working on an inventory of the museum’s extensive collection and improving the catalog for more than 20 years.

In the process of work, according to them, exhibits that were previously considered lost were repeatedly discovered.

The Paris Rodin Committee, which studies the legacy of Auguste Rodin and compiles a complete catalog of his sculptures, called the loss of the exhibit a “very sad” event. According to its head Jérôme Le Blay, “we lose a share of humanity when we lose a work of art.” “Art is often destroyed during wars – that’s life, but when it disappears due to mistreatment or negligence of people, then it’s a complete disgrace,” the expert noted.

The admission from Glasgow Museums continues a string of reports of important items going missing from the country’s leading museums. Thus, the British Museum in London reported in August of this year that a number of exhibits and artifacts dating back to the period from the 15th century BC were missing or damaged. e. to the 19th century AD e. As it turned out, more than 2 thousand exhibits were stolen curator of Greek collections Peter Higgs, who worked at the museum for 30 years. And at the beginning of October, information appeared that the museum association of Wales – Museum Wales – discovered the loss of almost 2 thousand exhibits. True, as representatives of the association noted, most of the “missing” exhibits were most likely simply moved to another place, incorrectly labeled, or simply lost their labeling. Therefore, museum workers expect to find them as part of the inventory and digitalization of museum catalogs, which can take up to 20 years.

Alena Miklashevskaya