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December 2000
November 2000
- U.S. Customs
Press Release, Customs Returns Artifact to
Peru. In a special repatriation ceremony, U.S. Customs returned
a priceless 18th century statue of the Virgin Mary to the Ambassador
of Peru. The statue was identified on Ebay and, after an investigation,
forfeited to the Federal Government.
- Embassy of
Peru Press Release, U.S. Customs Service Returns
Colonial Statue to Peru (Español).
Summary of the remarks by Ambassador Alfonso Rivero on the occasion
of the return of the Spanish Colonial statue to Peru.
- U.S. Customs
Press Release, Artifact
Returned to Guatemalan Government
. On November 16, U.S. Customs in Houston, Texas, turned over pre-Columbian
artifacts to a representative of the Guatemalan government. Inspectors
found the artifacts wrapped within a traveler’s clothing at Bush Intercontinental
Airport.
- Rose, Mark,
Back
to Greece, Archaeology Vol. 53 (November/December, 2000).
Thirty-one ancient vases and two Byzantine icons recovered from a
drug-trafficker in Australia have been returned to Greece.
October 2000
-
Miles, Cherise,
Seattle
Case Gives Treasures Back to Mexico, U.S. Customs Today
(October 2000). At a special ceremony at the Seattle Art Museum,
U.S. Customs returned a Precolumbian conch shell and carved skull
to Mexico. The repatriation followed on the seizure of these items,
and hundreds of other antiquities, from a Seattle resident involved
in the illicit antiquities trade.
September 2000
- Acar, Özgen,
A Plundered
Past. Archaeology, Vol. 53 (September/October, 2000). Two
years ago, archaeologists at Zeugma, Turkey, discovered a mosaic fragment
preserving only part of a woman's portrait, nicknamed "Zeugma's Mona
Lisa" or the "Gypsy Girl." Plunderers had previously looted the surrounding
mosaics.
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June 2000
May 2000
- Harrington,
Spencer P.M., China
Buys Back Its Past. Archaeology Online News (May 11, 2000).
The Chinese government spent millions of dollars purchasing art objects
looted from the Summer Palace over 100 years ago. The objects were
auctioned by Sotheby's and Christie's in Hong Kong.
March 2000
- Neumeister,
Larry (AP, March 30, 2000),
Feds Halt Sale of China Sculpture. Just prior to sale at auction,
U.S. Customs seized a wall panel stolen from a Chinese tomb.
February 2000
- U.S. Customs
Press Release, U.S.
Customs Recovers Prehistoric Italian Bones. Paleolithic human
bones, excavated in Italy, were smuggled out of Italy to the Netherlands
and then to the United States where they were sold to private collectors
via an Internet site. U.S. Customs seized the bones and recently returned
them to Italian authorities.
- U.S. Customs
Press Release, U.S.
Customs Returns Stolen Million Dollar "Phiale" to Italy. U.S.
Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly officially returned to the Italian
government a 5th century B.C. antique gold platter ("phiale"), worth
over $1 million, which was stolen from Italy and recovered, following
the successful resolution of a forfeiture proceeding brought by the
U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District
of New York.
- U.S. Customs
Press Release, U.S. Customs Agents Intercept
Smuggled Artifacts and Antiquities from Turkey. U.S. Customs Agents
culminated a two-year investigation into the smuggling of artifacts
from Turkey. A gallery owner pleaded guilty to conspiracy in federal
court.
- Axarlis, Nikos,
Greek
Antiquities Ring Broken Up Archaeology Online News (February
1, 2000). Greek police announced the arrest of two people in connection
with the theft of 271 artifacts and 1 million drachmae in cash from
the Corinth Archaeological Museum.
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