The Saarbruken Bronze

The Saarbruken Bronze

In May 1998, Greek authorities intercepted an ancient bronze statue near Saarbruken, Germany, and arrested several Greek nationals involved in its trafficking.

The statue was determined to be stylistically similar to the Greek Classic Period, from the second half of the 5th century to the early 4th century BCE, but was likely a Roman imitation of a Greek statue.

Swiss antiquities dealer Christoph F. Leon had allegedly been negotiating the sale of the bronze to the J. Paul Getty Museum's curator Marion True for approximately USD $6 million when the sculpture was seized in a sting operation.

Leon had recently sold the Getty a rare golden funerary wreath (which the Getty was eventually forced to return to Greece). He was now offering the curator another masterpiece that bore the hallmarks of having been recently looted: a barnacle-encrusted bronze sculpture of a youth.

True and Leon exchanged faxes about the deal, according to Greek investigators. The Getty was interested in buying the piece for $6 million, and Leon had demanded a $1 million commission on the sale.

Unbeknownst to Leon and True, the Greek Police's art squad had been tracking reports that an ancient bronze that was discovered in the Ionian Sea and was working its way across Europe with a Greek smuggling network. Repeated attempts to seize the statue as it moved through Europe had failed. In May 1998, the Greek art squad sent an undercover officer to Germany to participate in a sting aimed at recovering the bronze.

In requesting funding for the undercover officer, the art squad said speed was of the essence because True had flown to Germany to see the statue and might buy it. "If you don't issue a ticket and give him the money, then there's a possibility ... this object is going to be bought by the curator of the Paul Getty Museum," the request said. "She is now in Germany to see the object."

Records show True arranged to see the bronze in Leon's apartment in Basel, Switzerland in May 1998. At the time it had not been restored and was still oxidized and barnacle-encrusted, police photos show. Leon confirmed to authorities that True saw the piece but said her visit was "based on archeological interest" and that she never intended to buy it.

Days after True saw the object, the Greek art squad arrested Michail Kotsaridis, a Greek national and restauranteur living in Saarbrücken; Miltiadis Nikolaidis, a tour operator; Christos Kotopodis, a permanent resident of Preveza; and Christos' brother Jeremy, a permanent resident of Athens. Kotsaridis and another man were eventually convicted of smuggling the statue and were sentenced to prison.

Three months after the smugglers' arrest, the FBI questioned True. "Dr. True insisted that the Getty was not going to buy this object, but she wanted very much and was very interested to personally see it," according to an FBI report to Greek authorities. The report said True was "suspicious in regard to the provenance of the object."

Greek Police believe the bronze was originally found underwater near the western Greek port of Preveza. Leon was to be paid USD $1,000,000 for serving as the middle man between Kotsaridis and the eventual buyer.

During the sting, Greek Police also seized 311 coins, 103 other bronze objects and 39 clay animal figurines from Kotsaridis, all believed to date to the Classical Greek period.

The bronze was returned to Greece in 2002 and is now on display at National Museum of Greece in Athens.

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Sculpture – statues, carvings, bronzes, reliefs, figurines

Greek

J. Paul Getty Museum

Never accessioned

Greece

Jason Felch

Damien Huffer