New development in the Robin Symes case, which has been negotiated for decades: After Greece, Italy is also receiving back numerous artefacts from illegal excavations from the possession of the liquidated British art trading company von Symes. A total of 750 archaeological objects, with a total value estimated at 12 million euros, have been transferred from London to Rome, where they are currently exhibited in the museum in Castel Sant'Angelo.
The repatriation follows a 17-year legal battle. As early as 2006, the Greek authorities had launched investigations against the international company Robin Symes Limited, in the course of which the art dealer was exposed as a key figure in the illegal business with archaeological objects.
A few weeks ago, an agreement was reached between the Italian authorities and the liquidators of Symes' art trade. The oldest pieces brought to Rome date back to the 8th century BC, others from the Middle Ages. Among them are an Etruscan bronze table, Roman marble busts, an ornate lead sarcophagus and clay vases from Pompeii. "Works of art must not become the subject of illegal activities," said Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
A case for the Carabinieri dell'Arte
Another 71 objects located in the United States are to be recovered in the coming days by the Comando Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale (TPC), the "Carabinieri dell'Arte". According to Sangiuliano's will, these artefacts to be repatriated should also be exhibited in the future: "What has returned must not be locked up in warehouses, but must be housed in museums or made visible in other initiatives so that it is immediately accessible to the public," said "The Art Newspaper".
In May, 351 art objects from Symes' possession dating from the Neolithic to the Byzantine era had already been handed over to the Greek authorities. Among them are a statuette from the Neolithic period, a Cycladic figure around 5000 years old, a damaged marble statue from the first millennium BC and a fragmented bronze statue of the young Alexander the Great from the second half of the second century.