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13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 MARCH 2020 OPINION years later a chance of retrieving some of these objects was possibly missed. According to the Treaty of Paris, con- firmed later in Vienna (1814-15), when Malta was unqualifiedly claimed by Brit- ain as a permanent possession, France bound itself to pay seven hundred million francs to the victorious allies, its ex-ene- mies, in indemnity for war damages, and restore the art treasures removed from Europe during the Napoleonic Wars. Great Britain's share of compensation funds amounted to one hundred million francs. Although about fifteen European countries qualified for this compensation Malta, a major cause of the same wars, according to the British, did not qualify as it was absorbed by their Empire. No payments or returned items seem to have ever reached the Island. In spite of a public plaque on St George's Square, atop what is popularly known as the Main Guard and under the royal Brit- ish insignia of King George III, declaring Malta to have become a British colony out of its own 'love' and the 'voice of Eu- rope' to 'great and unconquered Britain' – according to historian Alfredo Mifsud (Origine della Sovranità Inglese su Mal- ta) in 1907 – Malta became Britain's pos- session without the Maltese ever being consulted. Mifsud argues that Malta was too small to affirm its rights and protesta- tions against being 'an object of negotia- tion without its intervention'. He says the Island was given to Great Britain by way of 'compensation' following the allies' 'arrogance in this congress of wolves'. In fact Maltese leading citizens in Valletta, to their utter consternation, were only in- formed of this news – changing the des- tiny of their country – on December 16, 1818, a good three years later, by Mait- land's secretary at the palace. Besides imperial arrogance there could have been another reason why British colonial masters had ignored Malta and its possible rights regarding its share of war in- demnity by France. Had Britain asked for La Valette's sword and dagger to be returned, the Maltese would have, most probably, al- so asked Britain to return the Island's iconic items, including Grand Master Ximenes' canon now in the UK, which the British seized from La Sensible while the French were in Malta. This could have been one of the reasons why Britain never bothered with the return of La Valette's sword and dagger. For the record the Order, in disar- ray, did not claim anything either. British pickings from the Valletta Palace Back to the subject of removed objects from other countries it is pertinent to note that in the 19th century the British colonial authorities in Malta took away many arte- facts, paintings and objets d'art without an- yone's consensus. The former Grandmas- ter's Palace in Valletta was denuded of its artistic treasures, furniture and other valua- ble possessions, as well as much of its huge armoury by British governors and military and civilian officials. Judge Giovanni Bonel- lo's research yielded information regarding such displacement of treasures from Val- letta. When Maitland had a palace built for him on Corfu, which he also governed, he had removed several paintings from the Pal- ace which he dispatched to Corfu as adorn- ments. This removal of paintings went on for a long time under different governors with regular public auctions held, during which paintings were sold cheaply. Bonello speaks of how one of Mattia Preti's most remarkable works, Boethius consoled by Philosophy, was hanging on a Palace wall but apparently disappeared early on, only to reappear at an auction in New York in 1992. Considered as a "ma- jor and sophisticated example of Preti's themes of a philosophical imprint depict- ed in Malta" by art expert Professor Keith Sciberras, the Boethius and Philosophy was painted in around 1680. Quite re- cently, in January 2020, the Maltese gov- ernment acquired the monumental oil on canvas for the sum of €1,323,000. It is bad enough to find one's iconic national treasures in global museums owned by governments from whom one could negotiate their return but it is worse to have to pay huge sums of money to private concerns in order to return re- moved artistic Maltese artefacts. Recently one could also appreciate other diplomatic approaches how former powers could enable citizens of victimised countries to relish, even temporarily, their countries' heirloom. Malta enjoyed such an oppor- tunity when François Hollande, President of France had agreed to loan La Valette's dagger which was eventually put on exhibit at the Auberge de Provence in Valletta for four months during 2017. When Bonaparte took possession of the sword and dagger in 1798, he sent the sword to France but kept the dagger as his personal talisman (trust- ing La Valette's valour would accompany him in his battles) until his death in 1821. The sword and dagger were reunited when they were displayed for the first time at the Louvre in 1852. Unfortunately it was a different sto- ry with the decorative Ximenes canon. When a number of years ago it was exhib- ited in Rome along with other European weaponry, the Maltese request to exhibit it also in Malta was officially turned down by the UK authorities. Finally one would do well to further re- flect in this regard upon two other points. History seems to have repeated itself after WWII in the case of the Marshall Recovery Aid which offered economic and other assistance by the United States to countries that suffered war damage. Again Malta was at a disadvantage be- cause it was a British colony and could not qualify for aid on its own. This issue was on the forefront in post-war elections as it featured in the electoral programme of Malta's Labour Party in 1950. Regarding La Valette's sword it is worth remembering that the real historic sword, the one with which the famous grand- master fought the Ottomans in 1565, has been lying away from the national spot- light for more than four and a half cen- turies in a small parochial museum in Vittoriosa. Below: La Valette's iconic real sword and hat in the Parish Museum of Vittoriosa (right) The Ximenes decorative canon now in the UK. A request to lend it to Malta for a temporary exhibition was refused La Valette's dagger from the Louvre. The ceremonial dagger was exhibited in Valletta in 2017 It is worth remembering that the real historic sword, the one with which the famous grandmaster fought the Ottomans in 1565, has been lying away from the national spotlight for more than four and a half centuries in a small parochial museum in Vittoriosa