The loss of artifacts was noticed and officially recorded at the Museum of Ancient Ukrainian Book Art, which is a department of Lviv National Art Gallery, on January 3, during the scheduled inventory.
According to Taras Vozniak, director of the Gallery, he informed the police, the prosecutor’s office, and the Ministry of Culture that 95 old books and two manuscripts went missing. “During the inventory process at the Museum of Ancient Ukrainian Book Art, which is a department of Borys Voznytsky Lviv National Art Gallery, the authorized to commission discovered the loss of a significant number of old books and manuscripts, that have had artistic and material value,” as quoted from his statement.
So far, neither the list of missing rarities nor even their approximate value has been made public. It is noted, though, that among the missing folios is one of the two copies of Ivan Fedorovych’s Apostle, as well as his Bible; the list also includes The Apostles by Spyrydon Sobol, and the Lviv Gospel... The total value of missing books could reach a dozen million dollars.
The director also noted the damage of the inventory records. “We have found gaps in the inventory books, which should have been stitched and sealed. We have also found that some stamps in the end of the books had been torn out,” Vozniak says. He suggests that the thieves had been stealing books for several or more years. Overall, the collection of the Museum of Ancient Ukrainian Book Art has approximately 600 exhibits, so it is easy to ascertain how many percent of old books the Gallery is lacking now.
On the occasion of this troubling discovery, the Lviv Gallery convened a special press conference; it was stated that the previous full inventory had been taken 8 years ago. This information has been confirmed by Ihor Khomyn, chief curator of funds at the Borys Voznytsky Lviv NatiЙonal Art Gallery.
Meanwhile, the former chief (2012-16) of Lviv Art Gallery Larysa Razinkova-Voznytska (the daughter of academician Borys Voznytsky, Hero of Ukraine) said that in summer of 2016 the Gallery has had the inventory, and no loss had been discovered in the process. “The commission was convened back then, and they checked everything,” says Razinkova. Therefore, in her opinion, the statements about the disappearance of old books is “a fabricated attack on the good name of Borys Voznytsky”; and, by extension – on her own good name.
Larysa Spasska, director of the bibliological museum, believes that the collection of old Cyrillic books should be double-checked: “perhaps, the rarities can be found somewhere…” She also states that in the period between 2002 to 2004, the alarm had been out of order in her subordinate department of the Lviv Gallery.
By the way, the museum director has been suspended from duty at the time of the investigation. The museum has been sealed and is now closed to visitors. The inventory of the Lviv Art Gallery funds continues.
According to the director of the gallery, the Police Department of Lviv region has initiated criminal proceedings under Part 3 of Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement or theft through abuse of office) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. A preliminary investigation is underway.
