Bilder Diebstahl ohne Ende, aus Galerien unter Obhut des MTKRS Ministerium in Albanien

27 Jul 12 / 14:48:46
Albania Threatens to Close Theft-Prone Galleries

After the theft dozens of paintings of Albanian impressionist Vangjush Mio from a gallery in the city of Korca, the Minister of Culture has threatensed to shut venues that don’t protect their treasures.

Besar Likmeta

BIRN Tirana Albania's Minister of Culture, Aldo Bumci, said a bill would be presented in September in parliament to strengthen the oversight of the State Committee of Museums over local galleries.

“There will be penalties and even closures of museum and galleries if they do not meet standards,” Bumci warned.

The threats follow the discovery of the theft of some 60 paintings from the Guri Madhi gallery in Korca. Twenty-seven were works of the renowned impressionist painter Vangjush Mio.

The paintings were found missing after a recent inventory at the gallery. In 1994, 21 of Mio’s paintings were stolen from the same gallery and are still missing

Mio is considered one of the most important Albanian painters of the 20th century and his art has fetched tens of thousands of euro in recent auctions.

The director of the gallery and an employee were arrested on Thursday charged with abuse of power, while the investigation on the theft continues.

There are nearly 50 local museums and galleries in Albania and the status of their collections remain unclear.

• Robert Elsie, ‘Website of the Albanologist about albanian art, albanianart.net
• (Albanian) Information about Mio in the Gazeta Kritika Forum, gazetakritika.net

Kadare's manuscript preserved in archive
40 years after the original manuscript of “Dimri i Vetmise se Madhe” was taken by the widow of the former Albanian Dictator, Nexhmije Hoxha, it will be seized and it will be temporarily kept at the General Directory of the Archives. 

Die Albanische Regierung selber hatte an den Freistaat Bayern ausgeliehene Ikonen *ca. in 1990,vergessen, welche ca. 1998 zurueck gefuehrt wurden mit Begleitschutz eines Bayerischen Polizisten. Folgen wenn man seit 1992 nur Idioten als Administrative ernennt, die oft nicht einmal schreiben und lesen koennen.