30 antiques are being repatriated from New York

Two marble statues of Aphrodite from the Roman period, a Cycladic marble figurine of the Spedos type (2700-2300 BC), a Corinthian helmet and 26 other Greek antiquities from prehistoric and Byzantine times, worth a total of $3.7 million, are being returned to Greece from New York, according to statements from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that 19 of the antiquities were voluntarily turned over to prosecutors by Michael Ward, a New York gallerist, and three were seized from property owned by the dissolving company of Breton antiquities dealer Robin Sims.

Photo by the Ministry of Culture.

One of the two statues of Aphrodite is created in the likeness of “Aphrodite of Knidos” by Praxiteles. It was discovered in a vault belonging to Robin Symes, where the statue had been hidden since at least 1999.

Photo by the Ministry of Culture.

The Cycladic figurine was illegally excavated in the Cyclades and discovered in the warehouse of a private collector from New York, from where it was seized earlier in 2023.

Photo by the Ministry of Culture.

The Corinthian helmet was smuggled out of Greece, found in Germany, where its provenance was falsified, and then attempted to be smuggled out. Gallery owner Michael Ward pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme orchestrated by antiquities dealer Eugene Alexander that involved selling stolen antiquities and money laundering.

The ceremony for the return of antiquities to the Greek state, which took place yesterday in Manhattan, was attended by the Consul General of Greece in New York, Konstantinos Konstantinou, employees of the Ministry of Culture and representatives of US security services.

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