[MSN] Athens: Having fought for decades to recover its stolen ancient treasures, Greece is now hosting an exhibition exposing the secrets of antiquities smuggling past and present.

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Published: 09/15/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)
 

Exhibition reveals secrets of antiquities smuggling 
Reuters

Athens: Having fought for decades to recover its stolen ancient treasures,
Greece is now hosting an exhibition exposing the secrets of antiquities
smuggling past and present.

Sepia photographs of 18th century European aristocrats posing proudly next
to looted ancient art may startle visitors to the Benaki Museum, but the
show "History Lost" is not just a stroll through the past.

Organisers say its timing could not be better, coming as top museums such as
the Getty in Los Angeles, whose former antiquities curator is on trial in
Rome for trafficking looted Italian art, are beginning to give back stolen
works.

The audio-visual show takes visitors through the ages of antiquities
smuggling from the Victorian collectors of Classical art to the looting of
Iraq's National Museum in 2003 and the routes of the modern-day illegal
trade.

In the 17th century, wealthy Europeans, enchanted with the ideals of
Classical beauty, filled their homes with Greek and Roman antiquities. By
the 20th century, African and Asian art once seen as ethnic handicraft also
fell victim to the trade.

Two parts

The exhibition is divided in two parts, before and after the 1970 Unesco
convention on the illicit trade of cultural heritage, which prompted former
Metropolitan Museum director Thomas Hoving to declare: "The age of piracy
has ended."

The United States signed the treaty in 1983 and Britain in 2003. But it was
the Swiss signing in 2005 that was hailed a major victory against
antiquities smuggling.

"The Swiss signing may bring a radical change to the antiquities trade,"
said Andreas Apostolidis, a co-organiser of the exhibition that opened this
week.

"The bulk of the illegal trade through Europe was conducted through
Switzerland because there were no customs checks."

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