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Answer to Sotheby’s and Greek dispute over an ancient artifact could lie in Basel

Last week Sotheby's sued the Greek government after the latter had demanded the auction house return an 8th century BC bronze antique it says was illegitimately acquired.

Published: 11 June 2018 11:29 CEST
Answer to Sotheby's and Greek dispute over an ancient artifact could lie in Basel
The bronze artifact in question. Photo: Dr Christos Tsirogiannis/AFP.

It's not more than 14 centimetres high but the little bronze horse has nevertheless caused an international storm. Auction house Sotheby's had planned to place the ancient artifact on sale on May 14th in New York. Estimates of its value range between €100,000 and €220,000. 

But a few days before the auction was due, a letter from the Greek government called on the auction house to cancel the lot and return the object to Greece. 

“There are no records in the archives of our service (i.e. an export permit from Greece) to prove that this figurine has left the country in a legal way,” states a letter to Sotheby’s, dated 11 May, from Elena Korka, head of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, reports The Art Newspaper. 

Sotheby's responded by suing the Greek Ministry of Culture in a New York court to assert the legitimate ownership of the US proprietor. 

But an expert on Greek antiquities and international law says the horse can be traced back to an auction in 1967 in Basel.

“The key resides in Basel,” Christos Tsirogiannis, a professor at the University of Glasgow, told Swiss news portal 20 Minutes. “It's from there that we have to trace the story,” added Tsirogiannis. 

It is not entirely clear how the 8th century BC bronze horse from Ancient Greece reached Basel. In 1973, British art collector Robin Symes apparently sold the ancient artifact to its current owners in America, having acquired it at a Basel auction house in the late 1960s. 

“The only clue we have is that the statuette appeared on three photos found in the archives of the British art dealer Robin Symes,” Tsirogiannis told 20 Minutes. 

Symes, a disgraced former British art dealer, was involved in a criminal network trafficking illegal antiquities.

Italian and Swiss police found more than 45 crates of stoles artifacts during a raid on a Geneva storehouse owned by Symes in 2016, reports The Local Italy. That haul was worth more than €10 million. 

In an interesting parallel, the head of an Ancient Roman statue, at one point traded by Symes, was returned to Italy by a prominent US museum in 2016, according to The Local Italy. 

READ MORE: How Zurich finally made peace with its very own Banksy

 

 

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CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

Published: 26 April 2024 11:17 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
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