Vanished 150-year-old snake sculpture in İstanbul's center replaced by replica

Photo: Tuğçe Yılmaz / bianet

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A missing historical snake statue on the gate of the prestigious Galatasaray High School facing İstanbul's iconic İstiklal Avenue has been replaced today with a replica made by sculptor Ozan Dursun.

Weighing approximately 110 kilograms, the newly crafted snake figure closely resembles the original, which had mysteriously disappeared several months ago. The fate of one of the 150-year-old twin open-mouthed snake statues remains unknown.

After it's disappearance bianet promptly contacted Galatasaray High School to inquire about the sculpture's potential whereabouts. However, on April 10, Turkey's second oldest educational institution responded with the statement, "We have no information."

Similarly, Galatasaray University failed to provide a response when contacted about the statue's fate. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, to whom we reached out under the Right to Information Law, also remained silent regarding the matter.

Missing since Women's Day

The missing statue has raised concerns since its disappearance on International Women's Day, March 8. This occurrence has sparked suspicions that personnel from a company contracted by the police may have accidentally struck the statue while setting up barricades.

Şerif Yaşar, the Head of the Association of Art History (STD), refuted these claims in an interview with bianet on April 10, believing instead that the sculpture was "stolen."

"Regarding the issue, I spoke with the administration of the Galatasaray High School and asked them about the fate of the statue. They told me that they had notified the police about the situation.

"They are dealing with the incident, but, unfortunately, they think the statute was stolen as well. They even said a person from the board of directors voluntarily called every single antique shop in the area." (TY/WM)