Ancient Greek vase removed from sale in UK amid smuggling scandal

According to a latest article, The Guardian features that a renowned London antiquities dealer has swiftly removed a rare ancient Greek amphora from sale after new evidence surfaced linking the piece to a notorious antiquities smuggling ring. 

Kallos Gallery, located in Mayfair, London, removed the black-figure amphora—dating back to around 550 BC—after The Observer contacted the gallery about concerns raised by Dr. Christos Tsirogiannis, an expert in illicit antiquities trafficking.

Dr. Tsirogiannis, an archaeologist with a focus on looted artifacts, discovered evidence suggesting that the amphora likely came from an illegal excavation in Italy. He identified the piece when it was displayed at Tefaf Maastricht, a prestigious art and antiques fair, and matched it to a Polaroid photograph showing the amphora in the possession of Giacomo Medici, a dealer convicted in Italy in 2004 for trafficking stolen antiquities.

Dutch authorities have been alerted, and the amphora—estimated to be worth around £50,000—is now under investigation.

Kallos Gallery, which specializes in ancient art, was founded in 2014 by Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza, the son of the late Swiss billionaire, Baron Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, who assembled one of the world’s most famous private art collections.

The amphora, which stands 23.6 cm tall, features depictions of sphinxes, a ram, and a lion. It has been attributed to the Phineus Painter, an anonymous artist known for his illustrations of Greek myths.

The gallery's provenance for the amphora, traced back to 1986, raised immediate red flags for Dr. Tsirogiannis, who noted the involvement of a gallery that had previously been linked to a convicted antiquities dealer from the 1970s. Tsirogiannis has been at the forefront of uncovering looted artifacts and has helped repatriate over 1,700 objects to 15 countries over the past 19 years.

In response, Madeleine Perridge, director of Kallos Gallery, assured that the gallery would fully cooperate with the authorities and stressed that the piece would not be sold until cleared by the relevant parties.

By Naila Huseynova