The treasure of Galdan

by Andrej Andrejew

  “In this case I need the weather charts and technical characteristics of the aircraft like the weight, average time to take off and...”

  “Sure, you will get that. Though there is one restriction. The maps will be blinded, that is you will not know the name of the island. Please don't interpret it as a sign of mistrust. We have our rules and at this time point the security clearance which we can obtain for you does not allow to provide you with information of the General Staff level. Your employer in the harbour will be informed today that you will start to work for us with immediate effect.”

  “Do you think they will agree?”

  “They will have to” politely but firmly said major “during the war anybody can be commissioned if this is required for the purposes of defence”

  On the one hand Voronov had really to work hard but on the other he was very happy to be able to work in his area of expertise. Especially he liked working with van de Hulst. They talked a lot and one day even went for a dinner. That evening Voronov has told van de Hulst his story.

  The officer was silent for a moment as then said:

  “I have served at East Indies since 1940. At first on Sumatra and then have been deployed to Timor. In January 1942 I have been wounded and evacuated with a destroyer converted to the hospital boat. We could not hold the island. Some Australian forces are still hiding in the forests and harass the Japs but I am not sure they will be able to resist for long.”

  “What do you think, why are the Japanese so successful?”

  “Well, in the meantime their luck seems to dwindle. Have you heard about the disastrous defeat which they have suffered at Midway in June? But it is still a long way to go. With a hindsight I can tell that we have made some grave mistakes. First of all we have badly underestimated the Japs. I remember in 1939 we were still joking about their army fighting with bamboo spears. And, between you and me, our colonial administration of East Indies could have been run better. This would take away from the Japs the claim of being the liberators of Asia.”

  “You know, in Hong Kong I have met a Japanese merchant. This was exactly what he was talking about – the liberation of Asia under Japanese banner.”

  “Apparently this merchant has not seen the behaviour of his countrymen in the occupied areas. This is where the Japs have made a mistake. They were initially welcome on Sumatra and Java but the population has soon noticed the arrogance of the “liberators”. For the Japs the locals were just “bakairo”- means a simpleton, an idiot. But their main mistake is that they do not realise the economic might of the United States. The times have changed. A martial spirit and valour alone are not enough to win the war. You need a strong economy and Japan will soon run out of resources. But nevertheless I have to admit, as much as I hate the Japs, they can fight. We will not get rid of them that quickly.”

  The further events have confirmed his words. Despite the successes at Henderson Field and Guadalcanal and further advance of the allies, the casualties were enormous. After the capturing of some islands there was no need for constructing new airfields anymore but the seized Japanese airfields were badly damaged and needed repair. Furthermore not all of them were suitable for the “Fortresses” bombers and had to be expanded and improved.

  Apparently not without the support of the Air Force commando Voronov has been offered the Australian citizenship by the end of 1943 and has readily accepted. By mistake his name has been changed to Vornov but he did not consider it being important to ask for correction. From that time point on he received the military uniform. In February 1944 he has received an order to go to England together with some other Australian and American officers. Though in 1944 the German submarines were not a menace they used to be at the beginning of the war still while crossing the Mediterranean nobody on the boat felt comfortable. From Gibraltar they continued by plane to London and then to Newcastle.

  This is where he met Dorothy who though being a teacher volunteered to work as a typist and German interpreter at the air force base. They have married in August of the same year.

  London 1944 - 2013

  1

  In 1946 Nikolay now Vornov went with Dorothy to Australia for one month to collect the belongings and thereafter they permanently settled in London. The need for the military airfields was very limited and he was able to get an engineer job in the road construction business. They had only one son – Paul. After all he was already 51 and Dorothy 42 years old and they thought it was too late to have more children.

  Voronov and Dorothy have managed to figure out the whereabouts of some old contacts. Marinus van de Hulst, returned from Indonesia in 1946 promoted to captain and settled in Dordrecht. They have visited him twice and once he came to visit them in London. Especially delighted was Voronov to hear about pater Seamus. He was in Hong Kong when the city has been captured by the Japanese. They have not touched the Irish Mission. Though the neutral Ireland was not a belligerent country pater Seamus was treated with a certain suspicion. After three months he has received a “kind advice” to consider moving from Hong Kong. But which options were there in 1941? The Japanese officer in charge of the civil persons from the allied and non-belligerent countries suggested Saigon. Among the territories occupied by the Japanese forces French Indochina was a special case. Since the Vichy-Regime was not at war with Germany and it's allies the conquest of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia went quite smooth. In fact there was no conquest at all.. The French colonial authorities, compliant with the orders of Vichy government quickly came to agreement with Japanese. This relationship remained till the end of the war. When pater Seamus arrived in Saigon he could stay with the Franciscans who run a local school and a small hospital. During this time Saigon was a sort of heaven. Somebody living there would hardly believe that a cruel war is ravaging the South-East Asia. The Saigon Opera House was still running though irregularly and the Cafés served quite authentic French patisserie and very good coffee. The change in the course of the war went as smoothly as the beginning. Though there were some air raids of the allied air forces in the surroundings the city itself was not harmed. The bank which handled the transactions of the Franciscans has hired the disbanded Japanese soldiers as security guards. They remained there for nearly a year.

  The headquarters of the Irish Catholic Mission have contacted him in 1947 and dispatched to Sri Lanka. The mission house in the outskirts of Colombo was running two schools there. The situation in the post-independence Sri Lanka was anything but easy. The antagonism between the various political groups and the first grass routes of animosity between the Tamil and Sinhalese could be noticed in the everyday life. Interestingly the Irish enjoyed a privileged treatment. For many people in Sri Lanka as well as India they were a sort of fellows who also suffered under the British yoke and managed to shake it off. Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, that time the Health Minister has visited the mission schools in 1947 and in 1956 already being the Prime Minister has invited pater Seamus to his home. In September 1957 after the Prime Minister has been assassinated pater Seamus has attended the funeral.

  Voronov has visited Sri Lanka and pater Seamus together with his wife and son Paul in 1956 and 1958. Voronov sincerely grieved the death of pater Seamus in 1959. Not only did he owe him the invaluable advice to go to Australia but also personally he felt a great affection to this person. He continued visiting Sri Lanka with his family until his death. His son Paul has maintained the tradition.

  2

  “And now” said Paul Vornov “we are planning to move to Sri Lanka next year. I have a severe form of arthritis, you know. The climate here is not good for me. Over there I feel much better and should I later need more care then I will be able to afford it.”

  “How about your wife? Is she also excited to move?”

  “At the beginning she wasn't. But now she sees the point. The problem is that our savings would not be enough. My farther never considered to sell the his treasure as he has promised it to pater Seamus. I didn't want it too but I am
afraid we have no choice.”

  “This reminds me what I wanted to ask. What were your father's plans, did he ever consider to return it?”

  “Oh yes. In 1954 he made an appointment with Chinese chargé d'affaires. That time there wasn't a fully operational embassy in London. But he could only meet a young official who told him that the objects are the relics of the past whereas the People's Republic is looking in the future. There was no interest in bringing to the country some ancient stuff which was used to maintain the superstitions and keep the poor enslaved. This was the last time my father thought about returning it to China.”

  “I see. From the legal standpoint you definitely haven't done anything wrong. The Chinese however are pondering on the historical justice and are quite upset. I am sure that they have no idea that their own representatives didn't want to do anything with that in 1954. Perhaps I could help you to settle this issue, at least I can try.”

  “Mister van de Waal, may I ask what would be your own interest in this story. I mean would you expects a sort of commission?”

  “No mister Vornov. My only interest is to have the copyright on the story. I would like to ask you not to share the documents which you have shown to me with anybody else. When everything is settled I plan to make a documentary and perhaps to write an article for a reputable magazine.”

  “I can assure that. What would be the next steps?”

  “I will need two or three days to figure out what would be the best way to handle the issue. Can we meet again in three days? And one more thing. Could you please call the auction and tell them that you agree with me talking to them about your property?”

  “Will do. Just give me a call when you have any news. Please call on this number, I don't have a mobile phone”

  2

  On the way back to the hotel Thomas felt completely exhausted. The jet lag and long talk took their toll. Another issue which came to his mind was money. Even if everything goes well the effort will pay off earliest in 3 months. But this trip to London has already caused meaningful costs and the accumulating hotel bill was hanging like a sword over his neck. The life of a free-lancer was a far cry from the comforts enjoyed by salaried journalists of major TV companies or magazines. In Beijing they lived in spacious apartments and usually did not have to work from home since there was a city office staffed with local technicians and interpreters. While travelling for their reports they simply paid with a corporate credit card or got the expenses reimbursed with the next pay check. Thomas lived in two-room apartment in the district of Fang Zhuang which was his studio at the same time. Except of his Chinese girlfriend XiaoFang, who occasionally helped him he had to rely on his basic knowledge of Chinese. Some major broadcasting companies and magazines who subcontracted him used to pay certain amount in advance but many times he had to bear the expenses himself and wait a month or two for reimbursement. In the last years the companies became stricter if not to say stingy. The have changed the mode of payment from the hourly basis to the so called deliverable units and have capped the pass-through costs. This meant that a free-lancer had to indicate the estimated travel time as exactly as possible. If he exceeded, then on his own bill.

  This trip to London had to be paid completely in advance and the budget which Thomas has calculated in Beijing would be enough for maximum five more days. Furthermore in ten days he had an appointment with an Israeli company who planned to make a documentary about the ancient Jewish community in Kaifeng.

  On the following day after calling XiaoFang he went to the auction house. Mr. Jerome Oakley the director offered him an appointment at 10:00. The director's office was impressive though somewhat old fashioned.

  “Sir, I appreciate very much that you agreed to meet on a short notice”

  “That's fine Mister van de Waal, this is all about Mister Vornov's contract, right?”

  “Exactly, I assume he did inform you?”

  “He did. Let me explain the problem. According to the terms and conditions it is possible to withdraw the offer prior to the first bid but this would incur a cancellation fee which depends on the estimated value. In this case it would be around 6.000 Pounds. If the offer is withdrawn after the start of the auction, the fee is calculated according to the last highest bid. The authorities did not seize the objects but have strongly recommended that we put the bidding on hold. We have complied since as you can imagine we are not going to exhibit anything which may be of doubtful origin.”

  “I do not have sufficient knowledge of legal regulations but it looks like Mister Vornov's ownership is not disputable?”

  “It looks like that but our policy on such issues is very clear . If in doubt, we are not going to take chances. Our house has a 121 years old tradition and we are not going to put our reputation at risk. I hope you can understand our point. Anyway, this is a special situation and the first one of this sort since I am in charge here. Therefore we have offered Mister Vornov to take his objects back without paying the fee. However he seems to take his time. The storage of his goods at our premises costs us 200 Pounds per day. I mean if we take into account the insurance fees and operating costs. Thus I had no choice but to set a deadline. So, in two weeks, no sorry, in ten days he has to pick his objects up.”

  “I assume your house has never experienced such a case before but are you aware about any comparable cases?”

  “One mostly spectacular which comes to my mind is the so called “Mohur” story in 1987”

  “Sorry sir, and what was that all about?”

  “Mohurs are big solid gold sovereigns which were minted during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. The biggest has a weight of around 26 pounds. There are old records saying that they were later presented by the Emperor Aurangzeb to Firooz Jung, the farther of the first Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam ul Mulk. The story of “Mohuurs” went into obscurity till in 1987 they were exhibited by Habsburg Feldman SA in Geneva. Apparently the vendor was the last Nizam of Hyderabad Mukharram Jah. When the Indian High Commission in London got wind of it they have tried to hold the auction through the Indian Embassy in Bern claiming these sovereigns might be Indian national heritage illegally smuggled out of the country. But the auction house refused it telling that they have checked the credentials and legal status and didn't see any reason for doubt. Furthermore, in case of auction being put on hold, the Embassy would be obliged to pay a substantial fee. However few days prior to the auction date the details of the dispute leaked out and the bids were much lower than expected.”

  “So, the sovereigns had been sold at a lower price?”

  “No. It emerged that the sovereigns were listed as security against a loan from Banque Indosuez. Since the loan has not yet been paid back the bank succeeded in freezing Nizam's Swiss assets”

  “But except of the loan issue actually they could be auctioned without any problem?”

  “They could but as I said for a lower price. An nobody could guarantee if the lucky final bidder would not “win” a years-long litigation in addition.”

  “Then as far as I understood correctly such situations are rather rare?”

  “The situations when the foreign governments intervene are rare. Otherwise it is not that unusual. From time to time a bank could intervene if the auctioned objects were mortgaged against a loan. Or what also happens is that the relatives of the vendor claim their share as legal inheritors.”

  “Sir, may I see the objects?”

  “Well, Mister Vornov has told me that you are acting on his behalf thus why not? However you must not take any pictures.”

  He led Thomas through a long corridor which ended with an armoured door. The steps then went downstairs to another armoured door. The director has opened it and they entered a spacious room with several windows. The light was already on but Mr. Oakley has switched on some additional lamps. Behind one of the windows Thomas saw a Buddha statue beautifully ornamented with bluish and green stones. To the left and right of the statue eleven rolls were displayed, one of th
em unrolled. It contained a text in a language Thomas had never seen before. Further to the left were two small stone plates with inscriptions which looked a bit like Greek or Ethiopian.

  “Looks like Gandhara-style” said Mr. Oakley. “Please have a look at the facial features. They are rather Mediterranean than Asian, aren't they?”

  “How old is the statue?”

  “The Gandhara style dates back to the fourth century BC till first century AD but they carved the sculptures from stone. I assume this one is from the late Guptas period, somewhere around 600 AD. Anyway it is not older than 900 AD.”

  “Please excuse my ignorance but how can you evaluate the age?”

  “Without using the sophisticated methods of analysis we cannot. But if we look at the inscriptions on the pedestal, do you see them? They are written in Siddham script which was in use around that time and then was replaced by Sarada script around 900 AD”

  “I have heard something about the Tang dynasty. What is the link between the Tang and the statue?”

  “Right, it was about the same time in the seventh till tenth century. The weight of the statue is 24 pounds, from them approximately 21 pound high purity gold, the rest undetermined other metal as well as emeralds and sapphires. One stone on the sleeve is missing”