Heritage Malta paying €31,000 for De Valette dagger exhibition

Grand Master de Valette's famous dagger is currently on display at the National Museum of Archaeology 

The exhibition of Grand Master de Valette’s prestigious dagger at the National Museum of Archaeology has cost Heritage Malta some €32,000.

Data tabled in Parliament by culture minister Owen Bonnici in response to a parliamentary question by Opposition MP Antoine Borg shows that Heritage Malta spent €20,000 to purchase materials related to the exhibition, and €7,000 on the transportation of the dagger from Paris to Malta and back.

A further €2,026 was spent on a Heritage Malta curator’s trip to Paris and back and on a Louvre curator’s trip to Malta and back. Around €2,000 has been set aside for the upcoming visit of two curators to transport the dagger back to the Louvre in July.

The dagger, which was taken from Malta during the French invasion of the island in 1798, will be on display at the National Museum of Archaeology till the 9th of July. It was brought to Malta “on loan”, as part of the events marking Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.