The Department of Antiquities of the Deputy Ministry of Culture announces that on the 4th of February 2026, a Cypriot antiquity was handed over to the High Commission of the Republic of Cyprus in the United Kingdom. The antiquity had been identified in an online auction by Archaeological Officers of the Department of Antiquities, who are responsible for monitoring the illegal trafficking of Cypriot antiquities on the internet, and was withdrawn following consultation with the auction house.
The antiquity consists of a Stemmed bowl (kylix) of Bichrome ware of the Cypro-Geometric III (900-750 BC)/Cypro-Archaic I (750-600 BC) period with a pair of opposed loop handles. It is decorated with encircling bands of black horizontal lines on the interior and exterior.
The Department of Antiquities would like to express its gratitude to the auction house and the possessor for their voluntary return of the antiquity to its country of origin, as well as to the High Commission of the Republic of Cyprus in London for their cooperation and the coordination of the repatriation procedures.
