TV prop mistaken for historical artifact placed in Istanbul museum

ISTANBUL

A wooden prop used in a Turkish children’s television series has been officially registered as a “historical artifact” and transferred to a major museum in Istanbul, in a case that has raised questions over cultural heritage oversight.

The object in question was produced in 2019 as part of the set design for “Tozkoparan İskender,” a popular historical-themed series aimed at younger audiences.

Despite its recent origin, the prop was reportedly identified by two experts as a “menzil taşı,” a traditional Ottoman-era stone marker indicating the distance reached by archers, and submitted for official registration.

On Feb. 26, 2025, the object was reviewed by a cultural assets registration board in Istanbul, which formally designated it as a historical object.

Following the decision, the piece was transferred to the Istanbul Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum for conservation and preservation work.

The case was further compounded when an academic article was published in a scholarly journal, describing the object as “the first and only range stone of Tozkoparan.”

Museum officials later identified inconsistencies regarding the object’s provenance and authenticity and began preparing a report concluding that the piece was not, in fact, a historical artifact. However, the initial board decision has not yet been reversed.

The development has drawn criticism from academics involved in the original production. Professor Şükrü Seçkin Anık, who served as an academic consultant during the creation of the series, expressed astonishment at the misclassification.

“I was surprised to see that a prop I helped design while working at the Archers Foundation was mistaken for a historical range stone and even became the subject of an academic article,” he said.

Anık emphasized that authentic range stones are typically made of marble, unlike the wooden prop used in the series, and noted that the item appears clearly in the show’s 14th episode.

“There are many scholars working in this field. It would have been better if they had been consulted,” he added.

While acknowledging that errors can occur in academic work, Anık argued that the primary responsibility lies with the official registration body and warned that such oversights could undermine confidence in heritage protection mechanisms.