Looted Greek antiquities are allegedly on sale at London Frieze Masters art fair, according to the following report by the Guardian newspaper:
Cambridge-based forensic archaeologist Christos Tsirogiannis, an expert on locating stolen antiquities, identified two marble vases known as lekythoi offered for sale at the prestigious Frieze Masters art fair in Regent’s Park in London.
According to The Guardian report, the lekythoi were put on sale on behalf of the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt, which is seeking revenue it is owed after the liquidation of the assets of convicted illegal antiquities trafficker Gianfranco Becchina, an ex-resident.
The Basel-Stadt canton announced it received permission to sell the items from the Italian police, who had sent back to Basel more than 1,000 pieces from the original seizure, stating they could not make a legal claim to ownership.
The Basel-Stadt public prosecutor admitted that there is no decisive proof as to where the antiquities originated, nor that Becchina had ever legally owned them. But The Guardian has seen compelling evidence to suggest at least one of the vases was looted in Athens and trafficked to the dealer in the 1970s. The vases did not sell, but as yet the authorities in Basel-Stadt have no plans to return them to Greece, where they probably belong. The London-based Art Loss Register, which had cleared the sale of the objects, now says it may reconsider its position.
Read full story here.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Christophe Meneboeuf License: CC-BY-SA
Source: greekreporter.com
