Two Attic marble funerary ships, a lekythos and a bath carrier from the 4th century BC, returned to Athens after the successful outcome of their long-standing claim by the Greek state. Marble lykyths and baths appear from the late 5th century and throughout the 4th century, for example in ancient Attic cemeteries, as tombstones, installed in family burial grounds. They are unique products of the Attic marble carving workshops. Both vessels that returned Reign date back to the 4th century, for example.
Once the process of repatriating the two vessels was completed, the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni noted that “The repatriation of Greek antiquities, which were illegally exported abroad, is a matter of national importance and a high political priority for the Ministry of Culture. International cooperation for the return of illegally exported cultural property through bilateral and multilateral agreements is our main goal. Today, with the repatriation to the attic of the two classical marble funerary vases, a long-standing demand of ours has been fulfilled. Six requests for judicial assistance have been filed by the competent Prosecutor’s Office in Athens, following cooperation with the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property of the Ministry of Culture, with which the Greek public has asked the Swiss authorities to repatriate the vases, and also to summon those involved to provide explanations for criminal offences. I would like to thank the competent officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the dedication they show in carrying out their duties, the State Legal Council for its constant and effective assistance in all relevant cases, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Athens, and, of course, Dr. Ilias Bissia, whose legal assistance was a catalyst.”
The 60 cm high lekythos has a relief depiction of a reception between a mature, robed man, the deceased, who is depicted seated on a folding seat with a backrest (klimus) and stepping on a footstool, and a standing bearded warrior, wearing a helmet, tunic and anatomical breastplate with wings, while holding in his left hand a circular shield (τὸ ὃπλον). Behind the deceased’s seat is a female figure, perhaps his wife, judging by the typical gesture of couples of pulling their clothes in front of their faces (ἀνακάλυσις). Above the figures are engraved the names of the two men in two verses. Dimostratos in the second verse is accompanied by the name of the Attic municipality of Lakiades from which he came: Kallias Dimostratos | Demonstratos Lakiadis.
The basin, 54 cm high, features in relief the floral decoration typical of vases of this type, consisting of regular club-shaped leaves, which cover 2/3 of the height of the vase and gradually converge towards the foot, a double row on the periphery and six rows of overlapping scales. The handles were inlaid in a separate piece of marble.
In October 2017, the Greek office of Interpol notified the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property that the funerary vases in question had been offered for sale at the Frieze Masters exhibition in London by the Swiss art dealer JD. C., and also forwarded relevant photographic material of which it had become aware. The Directorate concluded that these were the same Greek antiquities that had been seized in 2002 by the Italian and Swiss authorities in Basel, Switzerland, from the warehouses of the Italian art dealer Becchina and his wife. The vessels, after their seizure, were identified by Greek experts as being of Greek origin and the Italian authorities were informed of this fact. When they were seen being sold in London, the Greek Ministry of Culture immediately requested information on the matter from the Italian Ministry of Culture. The response from the Italian authorities revealed that the two antiquities had been returned to the Italian art dealer in Basel in March 2014, following a 2011 ruling by the Rome Court, which concluded that they were not of Italian origin.
The Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property requested the assistance of Interpol and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Athens, so that a request for judicial assistance could be submitted to the Swiss authorities regarding the confiscation and return of the two vases to Greece as proceeds of crime. In November 2017, the two antiquities were confiscated on behalf of the Greek State by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Basel, where they remained until their definitive return to the Greek State on 27/06/2024.
At the same time, in order to better represent the interests of the Greek State, the State Legal Council requested the appointment of a lawyer. By Decision of the President of the State Legal Council, the Athens and Swiss Advocate Dr. Elias S. Bisias, who handled the case, in collaboration with the State Legal Council, the Department of Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the competent Prosecutor’s Office of Athens.
During the reclamation of the antiquities, six requests for legal assistance had to be submitted, from the beginning of 2018 to the present, by the Athens Prosecutor’s Office, with which the Greek public asked the Swiss authorities, in addition to the repatriation of the two ships and the summons of those involved to provide explanations for the crimes under investigation. At the same time, an autopsy and examination of the objects was carried out at the Basel Public Prosecutor’s Office by an archaeologist from the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property and a detailed expert report was presented which documented, beyond any doubt, the Greek origin of the two monuments.
As part of the investigation, it was found that the Canton of Basel, through its Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Service, sold the two Greek monuments in February 2017 to collect debts arising from the judicial settlement of the costs of the criminal proceedings that were carried out in Switzerland against the Italian art dealer G. Becchina and his wife. Then, in October 2017, an attempt was made to resell them through the aforementioned Swiss art dealer at the Frieze Masters exhibition in London.
The repatriation of the two Attic burial ships was achieved through out-of-court negotiations, after the Greek State had been fully satisfied. The two antiquities were repatriated and those involved received compensation and financial satisfaction for moral damages. This success is due to the close, continuous and excellent cooperation of the Ministry of Culture through the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property with lawyer Ilias S. Bissia and the full assistance of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Athens and the State Legal Council.
The two antiquities will be exhibited at the Kerameikos Archaeological Museum.