A fragment from an ancient Roman sarcophagus, stolen from Greece in 1988, was returned to Greek officials last Friday, when a repatriation ceremony was held. The marble artefact, valued at USD 500,000 and weighing 200 kg was smuggled out of Northern Greece and had bounced around Europe, before landing in New York. Dating back to 200 AD, when Greece was part of the Roman Empire, it depicts a scene from the Trojan war. It features a man riding nude on a horse and preparing to attack against a shielded warrior. A young man wearing only a cloak stands behind the rearing horse.
It is not clear how the artefact found itself at the Royal-Athena Galleries in Midtown Manhattan, where it was displayed as the centrepiece, but as soon as its criminal provenance was confirmed, the gallery forfeited the piece willingly. According to ‘the National Herald’, New York’s Greek newspaper, the discovery of the illegally obtained sarcophagus in the antiquities market was made by Dr. Christos Tsirogiannis, a Senior Archaeologist at the Cambridge Archaeological Unit and forensic archaeologist researching antiquities smuggling networks and the market for looted cultural objects. Tsirogiannis located the antiquity at the Manhattan based gallery and found that it came from the illegal collection of Italian antiquities smuggler Gianfranco Becchina, and was seized by Italian and Swiss authorities. He then proceeded to notify Interpol and the Manhattan DA office.
On Friday’s repatriation ceremony, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. (son of the late US Secretary of State and UN Special Envoy to Croatia), alongside Assistant D.A. Matthew Bogdanos, presented the relic to the Greek consul general, Dr. Konstantinos Koutras, who stated: “On behalf of the Hellenic Republic, I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to the District Attorney of Manhattan, Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., for his contribution to this achievement, as we proudly accept a part of our heritage. This marvelous marble sarcophagus dated around the 2nd century A.D. will now be returned where it belongs, to Greece. It will be displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens with a special reference that will point out the decisive contribution of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for its repatriation. Sadly, in the past, our country has suffered from cruel and continued smuggling of its antique artifacts, and even to this day, a very important part of our heritage remains scattered throughout the world.
“The artistic expression of every human age and culture is part of our global and perennial heritage. Art, culture, and tradition transcend time and space. This global, collective expression should in no way be confined within the physical borders of any country, as regrettably is still the case today, especially with numerous ancient Greek artifacts.
“The fruits of the ancient Greek civilization, which have largely inspired and shaped the modern notions of democracy, philosophy, science and the arts, should be shared and enjoyed universally. It is, therefore, essential that they be exposed to as large a public as possible. It is imperative that they be shielded from exploitation. They belong to the world, and are not to be sequestered or used to serve or safeguard private interests.”