Turkish Airlines has flown the missing pieces of the Gypsy Girl Mosaic dating back to the 2nd century B.C. from Chicago to their homeland in Istanbul via a Boeing 777-300 ER belly flight.
The pieces of art had been displayed in Ohio, but have historical importance for all civilizations that lived across Turkey and the Anatolian region and are part of Turkey’s Zeugma Mosaics.
The pieces, weighed 1.3 tonnes, were flown to Turkey on 27 November and will be taken to Gaziantep from Istanbul to be delivered to the museum where Zeugma Mosaics are displayed.
Missing pieces of the Gypsy Girl Mosaic, designed in the second century B.C. were made ready for the flight using the technics employed by Turkish Airlines in its special cargo operations.
The pieces were wrapped in specially-designed papers and placed inside the wooden chests with maximum care to preserve their historical textures and was the only cargo shipped in the hold of the B777.
Among the missing pieces smuggled from Gaziantep 47 years ago, there are 12 pieces such as Young Satir, Pan Mask, Female Theatre Mask, Indian Peacock, Maenad Mask and Bird with Plant Branches in its Beak which are considered to be the pieces forming the surrounding of the Gypsy Girl Mosaic.
The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has worked for six years in the USA to get the missing pieces back to Gaziantep and to be displayed at Zeugma Mosaic Museum.
