Über Fritz Noetling und Theodor Heinrich Thomann schreibt Hans-Bernd Zöllner: "The core of the Burma collections of the Berlin and Hamburg Museums of Ethnology originate from what these two men took from Burma and shipped to Germany. ... In contrast to Noetling, Thomann was a professional treasure hunter, pretending as an archaeologist connected with Bastian’s Berlin Museum of Ethnology. He named himself “Thomann Gillis” and, accompanied by five German assistants, chiselled off paintings from the walls of the Weikyi-in Kubyauk-gyi Pagoda and packed them for transport. The activities of the party were reported to the British authorities and some items recovered and replaced. Bringing the case before court was considered, but finally, it was decided to expel Thomann from Burma. After long negotiations, in 1906 Thomann sold what he had been able to ship to the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology for a large amount of money provided by the government of that city. In 1923, he published a book about Pagan, which contains nice photographs but has little scientific value. He died one year later under somewhat tragic circumstances, consolation perhaps for some Buddhists as proof of khamma." - Zöllner, Hans-Bernd, "Germans in Burma, 1837-1945" in The Journal of Burma Studies, Volume 7, pp. 29-69, Zitat von S. 45
de
