Two Cypriot antiquities were voluntarily returned by the Art of Eternity Gallery in New York during a ceremony at the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in the United States, with the aim of repatriating them.
According to a post by the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in the US, a “modest ceremony” was held on Tuesday for the repatriation of two Cypriot antiquities – a Cypro-Archaic four-horse chariot (600 BC) and a Cypro-Geometric/Archaic bowl (750 BC). The ceremony was attended by US officials from the FBI’s International Operations Division, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the US, Evangelos Savva, expressed “gratitude for the voluntary return of the antiquities by the Art of Eternity Gallery of New York and thanked in this regard its Owner/Director, Howard Nowes, and Director Dara Mayers, who were also present.” He also highlighted “the appreciation” of the Republic of Cyprus to the Department of Justice and the FBI for their long-standing and close cooperation in preventing the illegal trafficking of antiquities and promoting cultural preservation, “which was once again demonstrated through the recovery of these two valuable items.” This was echoed in the comments made by David Lewis, Head of the FBI Division.
According to the post, this occasion “strengthened the importance of the bilateral Cyprus-US agreement” for imposing import restrictions on pre-classical and classical archaeological objects and ecclesiastical and ritual ethnological material from the Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods.
It is recalled that in December 2024, another 266 Cypriot antiquities were repatriated from Los Angeles, USA, with Deputy Minister of Culture Vasiliki Kassianidou at the time referring to “a growing trend of antiquities being returned” in recent times.
Source: CNA
Featured photo source: Rob Micheils
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