The Department of Antiquities of the Deputy Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Cyprus announces that, on 18 June 2026, one Cypriot antiquity was handed over to the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Paris. The antiquity was originally located on 14 May 2025, in an online auction in the Republic of France by the Officers of the Department of Antiquities who are responsible for monitoring the illicit trafficking of Cypriot antiquities on the internet.

Following a coordinated one-year effort involving the Department of Antiquities, the Cyprus Police, Interpol and the French Ministry of Culture and especially the Regional Archaeology Service of Occitanie, the holder of the antiquity decided to return it to its country of origin.

The object is a quadriga chariot, drawn by four horses, which dates to the Cypro-Archaic I-II period (600 BC). In the chariot box, which is rectangular in shape, there are two figures: a warrior bearing a shield and a charioteer, both wearing conical helmets. Similar votive terracotta quadrigas have been excavated in both tombs and sanctuaries.

The Department of Antiquities of the Republic of Cyprus expresses its sincere gratitude to all the agencies that contributed to this process, as well as to the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Paris for its cooperation and coordination during the repatriation process.