A famous London gallery has withdrawn an ancient Greek amphora from auction after evidence surfaced linking it to a notorious art trafficker.
The Kallos Gallery in Mayfair, London, removed the amphora, dated around 550 BC, from sale after the Observer contacted them regarding concerns raised by an expert on the illegal trade of antiquities.
Dr. Christos Tsirogiannis, an archaeologist and leading specialist in the looting of antiquities and trafficking networks, found evidence suggesting the amphora may have originated from an illegal excavation in Italy, according to the Guardian.
Stolen Greek Amphora Found in London Gallery
Tsirogiannis identified the amphora when the gallery presented it last month at TEFAF Maastricht, one of the world’s most prestigious art and antiquities fairs. He linked it to a Polaroid photograph, which appears to show the same item in the hands of Giacomo Medici, who was convicted in Italy in 2004 for trafficking stolen artifacts.
The photograph was part of a file seized by the police and is available on the Carabinieri's website. The object is believed to be worth around £50,000. The Kallos Gallery, which specializes in ancient art, was founded in 2014 by Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza, the son of the late Baron Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Swiss billionaire who built the world’s largest collection of privately owned art.
Standing 23.6 cm tall, the amphora is decorated with sphinxes, a ram, and a lion. It is attributed to the artist known only as the Painter of Phineas, named after a cup he decorated with the myth of Phineas, the blind king tormented by harpies, who was saved by Jason and the Argonauts.
The gallery’s provenance, listed online, only dates back to 1986. This raised suspicions for Dr. Tsirogiannis, who suspected the vase might have been part of an illegal excavation. He also pointed out that the provenance included a gallery owned by a dealer convicted in the 1970s for trafficking stolen antiquities from Italy.
Over 1,700 Looted Antiquities Identified
Tsirogiannis, a collaborating lecturer in archaeology at the University of Cambridge, leads the research on the illegal trafficking of antiquities for the UNESCO Chair on Threats to Cultural Heritage at the Ionian University in Corfu.
The late Paolo Giorgio Ferri, the Italian prosecutor who pursued dealers of looted antiquities, granted Tsirogiannis access to tens of thousands of images and other archival material seized in police raids on dealers and individuals involved in the illicit trade. Over 19 years, Tsirogiannis has identified more than 1,700 looted antiquities, notifying police and playing a role in their repatriation to 15 countries.
