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Greece Recovers Hundreds of Looted Artifacts from Dealer Robin Symes
Posted On 24 May 2023
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Tag: Acropolis Museum, archaeology, British Museum, cultural heritage, Elgin Marbles, Greek culture news, illegal trafficking of cultural goods, Lina Mendoni, Parthenon Marbles, Parthenon sculptures, repatriated goods Greece, Return of Cultural Property, Return of Cultural Property to Countries of Origin, reunification of the Parthenon sculptures, Robin Symes Ltd, The Met, Vatican Museums – Greece agreement
Artifacts recovered from the Robin Symes collection (in clockwise order): An Attic Black-Figure Amphora Type B (575-525 BC); a marble violin-like figurine-Proto-Cycladic I period (3200-2700 BC); and a marble archaic head of a kore or sphinx (550-500 BC). Source: Greek Culture Ministry
Hundreds of statues, figurines, sculptures, vases, jewelry, utensils and accessories dating back to Neolithic-early Byzantine times – including a 2nd century bronze statue of Alexander the Great – found in the Robin Symes collection will be returned to Greece, announced the Greek Culture Ministry.
A total of 351 objects and 25 groups of artifacts will be repatriated following a 17-year legal battle and the liquidation of Symes’ company. The British antiquities dealer was identified as being a part of an international criminal network active in the illegal trade of cultural treasures. Investigations began in 2006, when Greek authorities scrutinized Robin Symes Ltd business activities. In 2005, the British dealer was found guilty and imprisoned.
Among the items to be returned is a Neolithic statuette dating back to 4,000 BCE and marble fragments from the Archaic period. The ministry will announce the exact number of items after restoration.
A marble anthropomorphic figurine. Proto-Cycladic II period (2700-2300 BC). Source: Greek Culture Ministry
“A difficult case which has beset the Culture Ministry for more than 17 years closes today with the repatriation of dozens of antiquities which were illegally exported from Greece,” said Mendoni. “In the last three years, we worked systematically, we intensified our efforts to reach the final result. The repatriation of illegally exported cultural goods is a priority.”
Over the last few years, Greece has intensified efforts to recover looted artifacts from museums and private collections worldwide. The news comes after the Vatican agreed earlier this year to return three sculpture fragments from the Parthenon to Greece, in addition to the repatriation by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) of 161 Greek antiquities belonging to an American billionaire and the return by Switzerland of 15 Greek artifacts dating from the prehistoric to the Roman period.
At the same time, efforts to repatriate the Parthenon Marbles are ongoing.
