Aidonia Treasure
Object or Group Name
Aidonia Treasure
Case Summary
The Aidonia treasure comprises a hoard of Mycenaean gold and jewelry and is believed to have been looted in the late 1970s from a cemetery at Aidonia in Greece.
The identities of the looters and smugglers remain unknown, but contemporaneous reports suggested possible involvement of clashing looter groups and local government officials. Stories also circulated saying that artifacts were packed among watermelons and smuggled out of the country.
The Michael J. Ward Gallery in New York acquired the collection in 1992 from an unidentified seller and offered it for sale in April 1993. Boston University archaeology professor Ricardo J. Elia recognized the treasure might have been from the Aidonia cemetery and notified Greek authorities, who sued Ward for the return of the objects.
In December 1993, the case was resolved out of court and the gallery donated the objects to the Society for the Preservation of Greek Heritage (with a tax deduction for the gallery). Ultimately, in 1996, the Society voluntarily returned the collection to Greece, having acknowledged the fact that it had probably been looted. It is now permanently kept at the Museum of Nemea.
The identities of the looters and smugglers remain unknown, but contemporaneous reports suggested possible involvement of clashing looter groups and local government officials. Stories also circulated saying that artifacts were packed among watermelons and smuggled out of the country.
The Michael J. Ward Gallery in New York acquired the collection in 1992 from an unidentified seller and offered it for sale in April 1993. Boston University archaeology professor Ricardo J. Elia recognized the treasure might have been from the Aidonia cemetery and notified Greek authorities, who sued Ward for the return of the objects.
In December 1993, the case was resolved out of court and the gallery donated the objects to the Society for the Preservation of Greek Heritage (with a tax deduction for the gallery). Ultimately, in 1996, the Society voluntarily returned the collection to Greece, having acknowledged the fact that it had probably been looted. It is now permanently kept at the Museum of Nemea.
Number of Objects
50
Object Type
Various
Jewelry
Culture
Mycenaen
Receiving Country
Greece
Sources
Antikas, T. and Wynn-Antikas, L. 2003. Cultural Heritage: The real ‘Aidonia treasure' was a horse.
http://www.academia.edu/10192447/2002._Cultural_Heritage_The_real_Aidonia_treasure_was_a_horse
Katie Demakopoulou & Nicoleta Divari-Valakou, 1997 The Aidonia Treasure Athens: Ministry of Culture, Archaeological Receipts Fund, 31pp
https://web.archive.org/web/20151203195042/http://www2.mcdonald.cam.ac.uk/projects/iarc/culturewithoutcontext/issue4/brodie-review.htm
McElroy, J. 2005. The War Against the Illegal Antiquities Trade: Rules of Engagement for Source Nations. Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal 3(2004-2005): 549-565.
https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/hascom27&i=563
Images
National Archaeological Museum of Athens (1996),
MOLA Contributor(s)
Alex Breitfelder
Peer Reviewed By
Vanessa Rousseau
VG
Citation
“Aidonia Treasure,” Museum of Looted Antiquities, accessed October 14, 2024, https://mola.omeka.net/items/show/958.