The Department of Antiquities of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works issued a press release, expressing its “sincere appreciation to Mr. Christakis Hadjiprodromou for his kind donation of a prehistoric clay figurine”. The figurine was part of Mr Hadjiprodromou’s declared private collection that was kept in his house in Ammochostos (Famagusta) prior to the Turkish invasion in 1974. As a result of the invasion, Mr. Hadjiprodromou’s residence was pillaged, and his collection was looted, its objects scattered around the world. The specific figurine was repatriated from Munich in August 2015 along with other antiquities that were in the illegal possession of Aydin Dikmen, after a long legal battle.

The figurine dates to the Middle Bronze Age (2000 – 1650 BC) and it represents an infant in a cradle. It is adorned with painted motifs and it belongs to a rare category of figurines.

It will be included in an exhibition organized by the Department of Antiquities to be inaugurated on September 23, 2016, within the framework of a research programme (SPAUT, Saving Prehistoric Antiquities under Threat). After the exhibition the figurine will be on permanent display in the Cyprus Museum.