The Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announces that, on 26 April 2023, the repatriation from the United States of America of more than 80 Cypriot antiquities dating to various periods of Cypriot history, from approximately 2000 BC to the 18th century AD, was successfully completed. The antiquities include, among others, clay and glass vessels, stone sculptures, ancient coins and a fragment of a fresco. All antiquities were handed over to the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington by the competent authorities of the USA or by private individuals.
Specifically, on April 20, 2023, an official repatriation ceremony of the antiquities was held at the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington, in the presence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the USA, Mr. Marios Lysiotis, the Director of the Department of Antiquities Dr. Marina Solomidou-Ieronimides, the Superintendent of Antiquities Ms. Eftychia Zachariou, the Head of the Office for Combating Illegal Occupation and Trafficking of Antiquities of the Police Headquarters, Senior Lieutenant K. Mr. Michael Gavrielides, the Deputy Assistant Director of International Operations of HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) Mr. Ricardo Mayoral and representatives of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and the US State Department. Representatives of the Centre for Hellenic Studies at Harvard University and Dumbarton Oaks were also present. The packing and transportation of the antiquities was supervised by Dr. Eleftherios Charalambous, Curator of the Department of Antiquities. On April 26, 2023, the antiquities arrived at the Cyprus Museum where they were unpacked under the supervision of the Conservator of the Department of Antiquities Ms. Eleni Loizidou. The antiquities will then be conserved and digitized in the database of the Department of Antiquities.
The Department of Antiquities and the National Committee for the Suppression of Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Heritage express their sincere thanks to the authorities of the United States of America, especially HSI, FBI, CBP and the State Department, for their excellent cooperation and their valuable efforts to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property and to protect the cultural heritage of Cyprus. In this direction, the contribution of the relevant Cyprus-US Agreement concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Pre-Classical and Classical Archaeological Objects and Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Period Ecclesiastical and Ritual Ethnological Materials is considered particularly positive.
The Department of Antiquities and the National Committee for the Suppression of Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Heritage wish to express their sincere thanks to the US citizens who voluntarily handed over to the competent authorities the Cypriot antiquities in their possession to be returned to their place of origin.
(AF/SX)
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