After a long legal battle, 351 looted antiquities, dating from the Neolithic to the Byzantine era, will be returned to Greece, said the Greek Ministry of Culture on the night of Friday to Saturday. A large number of ceramic fragments will also be repatriated.
The antiques, divided into 25 groups, were in the possession of British art dealer Robin Symes Limited, which is being liquidated, according to a statement.
Two fragments of the Parthenon exhibited in Austria will return to Greece
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the legal battle to recover the antiquities looted in Greece lasted 17 years, beginning in 2006 when Greek authorities began investigating Robin Symes Ltd. at home and abroad. Notable pieces in the antiquities collection include a Neolithic statuette carved in white stone dating from 4000 BC, a Cycladic figurine dating from between 3200 and 2700 BC, a damaged marble statue from archaic Korè dating from 550-500 BC, or a fragmented bronze statue of a young Alexander the Great dating from the second half of the second century.
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Greece is struggling to recover its looted works of art and antiquities scattered in museums and private collections around the world. Three fragments of the Parthenon kept by the Vatican for more than two centuries were returned to Greece in March, a gesture of friendship according to Pope Francis. Fragments of the monument are scattered in several major museums around the world.
Greece also hopes to secure the return of the Parthenon friezes from the British Museum in London, and negotiations are reportedly underway between the museum and the Greek government. London claims the sculptures were "legally acquired" in 1802 by British diplomat Lord Elgin who sold them to the British Museum. But Greece maintains that they were "looted" while the country was under Ottoman occupation. The restitution of the Parthenon friezes is a highly sensitive subject in Greece. At the Acropolis Museum, an empty space is reserved for this frieze.