Thirty antiquities return to Greece after their confiscation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The antiquities were handed over to the Greek authorities on Friday, December 15th by the head of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit Matthew Bogdanos, Deputy District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, at a special ceremony held at the DA’s office, in the presence of the Secretary of Culture George Didaskalos, the Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Konstantinou and members of the Department of Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property.

30 αρχαιότητες επιστρέφουν από τη Νέα Υόρκη στην Ελλάδα

The antiquities that are repatriated cover a wide chronological range from prehistoric to Byzantine times and are representative examples of sculpture, metalwork and ceramics. Among them stand out an intact marble Cycladic figurine of the ‘Spedos’ type and three fragmentary surviving figurines, two heads and a trunk of the ‘Spedos’ type (2700-2300 BC), a clay cup of the Kamaraic style and a bronze bull figurine of the Minoan period (1900-1500 BC). ), a Mycenaean pitcher and a Mycenaean thelastron (1300-1150 BC), an aryballos in the form of a male skull and crossbones head from a faience, two aryballis, one in the form of a seated female figure and the other in the form of a hare of Archaic times (6th century BC), a red-shaped dog of Classical times (5th century BC), a red-headed dog of Classical times (5th century BC), a red-headed dog of the 6th century BC and a red-headed hare of the 6th century BC. B.C.), a calyx of the ‘Western Clytus’ category and a bucket of the Hellenistic period (4th-3rd century B.C.), seven bronze helmets (6th-4th/3rd century B.C.), a red-headed helmet of the 5th century B.C., and a bucket of the 5th century B.C. (4th-3rd century B.C.). X), including one Corinthian, five Attic and one Chalcidian, two bronze and two iron anatomical breastplates of Hellenistic times, a bronze harness accessory of Hellenistic/Roman times, two marble statues of Aphrodite of Roman times, a silver icon with a representation of the Virgin Mary of Byzantine times and a silver plate with floral, animal and geometric decoration. The objects come from seizures in the warehouses of British antiquities dealer Robin Symes and in Michael Ward’s gallery in New York.

Marble Cycladic figurine of the ” Spedos ” type 2700-2300 BC

Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni made the following statement “The fight against the illegal trafficking of cultural goods requires strong partnerships and a lot of work. The head of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit Matthew Bogdanos and his colleagues, the staff of the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the archaeologists of the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property of the Ministry of Culture have these characteristics and their continuous successes prove it. The repatriation of 30 antiquities from New York comes as a continuation of the return of 55 ancient objects in 2022 and 29 ancient objects in the spring of 2023 recovered with the cooperation of the same protagonists, who now form a strong team.”

Chalkidic Helmet 4th-3rd century BC.

The importance of cooperation and the deep gratitude of Greece to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Homeland Security Investigation was expressed by the Secretary General of Culture and stated the will of the Ministry of Culture to continue the close cooperation that has yielded excellent results to date.

Cup of the Camaraic style 1900-1500 BC