This is the epilogue of a long legal battle. After 17 years of lawsuits, Greece has finally won its case, and will finally be able to recover no less than 351 antiquities held by a British art dealer. The announcement was made overnight from Friday to Saturday by the Ministry of Culture. Treasures dating from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period.
Among the most notable of the collection: a statuette carved in white stone dating from 4,000 years BC, or a bronze statue representing a young Alexander the Great dating from the second half of the 2nd century.
Treasures held by British art dealer Robin Symes Limited – a key figure in antiquities trafficking also implicated in tomb looting in Italy and investigated by Greek authorities since 2006.
A victory for Greece, which is now fighting to recover its heritage scattered in museums and private collections around the world.
Robin Symes επαναπατρίζονται
➡️Αγάλματα, ειδώλια, γλυπτά, αγγεία, κοσμήματα, σκεύη και εξαρτήμ api ντινούς χρόνους.
🔗https://t.co/P6Mx19unlX#MinCultureGr pic.twitter.com/cYr6BhfuvB
— Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού (@cultureGR) May 20, 2023
The last restitution dates from last March.
This time, 3 fragments of the Parthenon kept by the Vatican for more than two centuries were finally repatriated to Greek soil.
Read also : Vatican returns Parthenon sculpture fragments to Greece
Next objective of the Greek authorities: to obtain the return of the friezes of the Parthenon currently exhibited at the British Museum in London.
But this time, the negotiation looks more difficult: because if Greece considers to have been looted, London affirms for its part that the friezes were indeed acquired legally in 1802.