October 28, 2006 - 10:10 AM
War of words erupts over sale of ancient
texts
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/War_of_words_erupts_over_sale_of_ancient_texts.html?siteSect=105&sid=7202046&cKey=1162022995000
Plans
by a Geneva museum to sell two ancient manuscripts for millions
of dollars
have drawn consternation from scholars around the world.
They fear the
sale of the papyri, which date back to the 2nd century,
could precipitate the
break-up of a unique collection of around 50
texts held by the Bodmer
Foundation.
The Bodmer, based in Cologny just outside the city,
says it needs to
raise money to guarantee the long-term future of its museum,
which
opened only three years ago.
But around 20 academics from
Switzerland and abroad are calling for
the sale of two manuscripts – gospels
of St John and St Luke – to be
halted.
According to Paul Schubert,
professor of ancient Greek at Geneva
University, the collection to which the
texts belong is one of the
most extensive and valuable of its kind in the
world.
He says it contains New Testament codices, other Christian texts
and
three comedies by the Greek playwright Menander, which were all
found
together.
"One of the jewels of the [Bodmer] collection is this
set of ancient
books from the second to fourth century AD that all belong
together,"
Schubert told swissinfo. "It is the same as if the British
Museum
decided to sell one panel from the Parthenon frieze."
The
professor, who is a specialist in ancient papyri, said colleagues
both at
home and abroad were also concerned about the "hushed" way in
which the sale
was being conducted.
He said they only got wind of it after an academic
tipped them off
earlier this year that Yale University in the United States
was being
lined up as a possible buyer.
"We don't know to whom they
want to sell; we don't really know what
they want to do with the money. Is it
really to pay for the museum or
to buy other things?" said
Schubert.
"We are just trying to draw attention to the fact that
something has
to be done. Selling the prize assets to keep an institution
running is
not the right way to do it. They are just shooting themselves in
the
foot," he added.
The Geneva University professor suggested that
the museum would be
better off selling items of which they had two copies,
adding that he
hoped the cantonal government might be persuaded to
intervene.
Raise capital
The reaction from the
academic community has infuriated Jean Bonna,
chairman of the foundation's
board, who insists the body is acting in
the best interests of the
museum.
Bonna explained that the foundation urgently needed to raise
capital
to help cover the organisation's annual running costs of
SFr1.8
million ($1.4 million).
He added that the foundation hoped to
make around $9 million from the
sale of the papyri, which he stressed had
already been published in
their entirety. The transaction has yet to be
completed.
"We always knew that the [foundation's] capital would be
insufficient
to run this museum, and ever since we opened the museum we have
been
discussing what to sell," he said.
"It's a responsible choice we
have made after much reflection and
taking all the interests into
consideration," he added.
Bonna pointed out that the manuscripts would be
going to a museum,
university or major library in Europe or America where
they would
still be accessible to researchers.
"The by-laws of the
foundation are extremely clear: they allow us – if
we need the foundation to
survive, which is the case – to sell
anything from the foundation," he
said.
swissinfo, Adam Beaumont in Geneva
--
June
Samaras
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