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02-05-2023 14:30 |
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Announcement
by the Department of Antiquities on the repatriation of over 80 antiquities
to Cyprus |
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The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, announces that on the 26th of April 2023, the repatriation of over 80 Cypriot antiquities from the United States of America was successfully completed. The antiquities date to various periods of Cypriot history, from around 2000 BC up to the 18th century AD. These include, amongst others, ancient clay and glass vessels, limestone sculptures, coins and an ecclesiastical wall painting fragment. All antiquities had been handed over to the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington by the USA authorities or by private individuals. Specifically, on the 20th
of April 2023 an official repatriation ceremony took place at the Embassy of
the Republic of Cyprus in Washington, signalling the return of the antiquities
to their place of origin, which is Cyprus. The ceremony took place in the
presence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus in the United States of
America, Mr. Marios Lysiotis, the Director of the Cyprus Department of
Antiquities, Dr. Marina Solomidou Ieronymidou, Curator of Antiquities, Ms.
Eftychia Zachariou, the Head of the Office for the Combating of Illicit
Possession and Trafficking of Antiquities of the Police Headquarters (Cyprus
Police), Chief Police Inspector Michalis Gavrielides, the Deputy Assistant
Director, International Operations, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI),
Ricardo Mayoral, and representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), the Custom and Border Protection (CBP) and the State Department. Also
present were representatives of the Centre for Hellenic Studies of Harvard
University and Dumbarton Oaks. The packing and transportation of the Cypriot
antiquities was overseen by Dr. Elefthrios Charalambous, Conservator at the
Department of Antiquities. On the 26th of April 2023 the antiquities arrived
at the Cyprus Museum in Lefkosia, where they were unpacked under the
supervision of Department of Antiquities’ Conservator, Ms. Eleni Loizides.
The antiquities will be conserved and digitized as part of the Department of
Antiquities’ digitization program. The Department of Antiquities
and the National Committee for Combatting the Looting and Illicit Trafficking
of Antiquities wish to warmly thank the competent authorities of the United
States of America and especially the HSI, FBI, CBP and the State Department
for their excellent collaboration and their tireless efforts towards the
protection of cultural heritage and the combatting of illicit trafficking of
cultural objects. Towards this direction, the Cultural Property Agreement
that is in force between the United States of America and the Republic of
Cyprus concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Pre-Classical and
Classical Archaeological Objects and Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Period
Ecclesiastical and Ritual Ethnological Materials, remains of extremely vital
importance. The Department of Antiquities
and the National Committee for Combatting the Looting and Illicit Trafficking
of Antiquities also wish to express their sincere appreciation and to thank
the private individuals in the United States of America who voluntarily
handed over the Cypriot antiquities that were in their possession, in order
for them to be returned to their place of origin. (AP/SCH) |
