Repatriation triumph: 30 antiquities, valued at $3.7 million, return to Greece in New York ceremony

Among the archaeological findings that were returned, a notable piece is a female statue, with a total height of 38 inches, valued at 1 million dollars. As for the rest of the treasures, their value ranges from 2,500 to 750,000 dollars, including items from Cycladic and Mycenaean Art, as well as artifacts from the 5th and 6th centuries BCE, helmets, and more. Photo: AMNA

16 December 2023 10:33am

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In a repatriation ceremony held on Friday in New York, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announced the return of 30 antiquities to Greece, collectively valued at $3.7 million.

The ceremony, attended by Greek Consul General Konstantinos Konstantinou, Secretary General of Culture Georgios Didaskalou, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Thomas Acocella, marked the restitution of cultural treasures to their country of origin.

Of the returned artifacts, nineteen were voluntarily surrendered by New York gallery owner Michael Ward, while three were seized from British art dealer Robin Symes.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, Chief of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit & Senior Trial Counsel, supervised the investigations, with support from Elena Vlachogianni and Vasiliki Papageorgiou of the Department of Documentation & Protection of Cultural Goods in Greece’s Ministry of Culture.

Repatriation of thirty archaeological findings stolen from Greece in the 1990s and 2000s in a special ceremony at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Photo: AMNA

Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni expressed her gratitude, stating, “Cultural heritage is an integral part of our identity as people and nations. It is therefore essential and nowadays crucial to protect and preserve cultural heritage for future generations.”

Among the significant pieces returned are the Marble Aphrodite, a statue based on the famous Aphrodite of Knidos recovered from a storage unit belonging to convicted trafficker Robin Symes, and the Cycladic Marble Figure, a four-thousand-year-old marble figurine illegally excavated from the Cycladic Islands and seized earlier this year from a New York-based private collector.

Another notable piece is the Corinthian Helmet, a bronze example of the popular helmet style for Ancient Greek warriors. Smuggled out of Greece, it was given false provenance in Germany and consigned to New York-based art dealer Michael Ward. Ward pled guilty to Criminal Facilitation in the Fourth Degree and admitted to purchasing stolen antiquities as part of a money-laundering scheme allegedly orchestrated by Eugene Alexander.

*With AMNA