The Greek Culture Ministry has announced hundreds of statues, figurines, sculptures, vases, jewellery, utensils and accessories dating back to Neolithic early Byzantine times will be returned to Greece.
A total of 351 objects and 25 groups of artefacts from Robin Symes’ collection will be repatriated following a 17-year legal battle and the liquidation of Symes’ company.
Greece’s Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, said in a statement: “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.”
Among the items to be returned is a Neolithic statuette dating back to 4,000 BCE and marble fragments from the Archaic period.
“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,” she added.
The ministry will announce the exact number of items after restoration.
Source: GTP Headlines
