The UK is to repatriate a collection of six glazed tiles that were stolen from the Shah-i Zinda memorial complex near Samarkand. The tiles were seized by officials at Heathrow Airport, after being discovered in the luggage of a passenger arriving from Dubai. Despite a receipt showing that the tiles were replicas which been purchased in Sharjah for 315 dirham, (about £70 of US85), the apparent age of the tiles raised concerns, and experts at the British Museum were contacted to determine their origin.
The Shah-i Zinda complex dates from the thirteenth or fourteenth century, when the city was part of the Chagatai Khanate, founded by Chagatai Khan, the second son of Ghengis Khan, in 1226. The tiles are glazed in white, turquoise and cobalt blue, and covered in Qur’anic inscriptions. The tiles will be displayed at the British Museum until December, then returned to Uzbekistan.
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