Christie’s Auction called off- Ancient Greek Vase part of Art smuggling

An ancient Greek vase was prevented from being auctioned off at the prestigious art auction house Christie’s in London, after its providence was disputed and was instead discovered to be the product of art smuggling.

The vase, which was due for auction this week, was made about 540 – 530 BCE in an attic workshop, and its auction price was set at between 15,000 – 25,000 pounds.

According to Greek media reports, the identity of the said vase was verified by archaeologist – researcher Dr Christo Tsirogiannis, from Cambridge University with the help of photographs supplied by police authorities in Greece.

Dr Tsirogiannis has confirmed the vase was the product of theft and has notified all parties including the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Greek embassy in London.