La casa de subastas británica Bonhams se ha visto obligada a retirar de una puja que iba a celebrarse hoy cuatro esculturas romanas, porque al parecer fueron robadas de yacimientos arqueológicos en el extranjero.

Fuente: EFE, Londres | ABC.es, 28 de abril de 2010

Fotografías tomadas por la policía muestran que las esculturas, tres bustos de monumentos fúnebres y una estatua de mármol que data del siglo II después de Cristo, fueron al parecer desenterradas ilegalmente, según publica hoy el diario británico "The Guardian".

Un portavoz de Bonhams confirmó que la casa de subastas ha decidido retirar de la venta las cuatro esculturas, a la espera de una investigación interna que aclare su procedencia.

El portavoz explicó que la casa de subastas comprueba el origen de todas las piezas en la base de datos del Art Loss Register para asegurarse de que sólo venden piezas cuyo origen está claro.

"Si no está claro, los retiramos de la subasta", afirmó.

Los arqueólogos están preocupados por el creciente comercio ilegal de antigüedades y algunos consideran insuficientes las comprobaciones que se llevan a cabo sobre su procedencia.

El arqueólogo de la Universidad de Cambridge Christos Tsirogiannis, que ha trabajado antes para el Ministerio de Cultura griego, fue quien destapó la supuesta venta ilegal de estas esculturas, a las que se les atribuye un valor de 40.000 libras (45.987 euros).

Según el profesor de arqueología mediterránea de la Universidad Swansea (Gales) David Gill, la tierra aún adherida a las estatuas es prueba de que fueron desenterradas ilegalmente.

Desde 2003 se considera un crimen comerciar con objetos culturales y se castiga con siete años de prisión en el Reino Unido.

El estilo de los tres bustos fúnebres que hoy debían salir a subasta indica su procedencia del este de la zona mediterránea, probablemente de excavaciones de Siria o del norte de Grecia, mientras que la estatua de mármol se cree que proviene de Italia.

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Roman sculptures withdrawn from auction amid fears they are stolen

Bonhams auction house acts after claims that second century AD artefacts were taken during illegal excavations

By Dalya Alberge | Guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 April 2010

Four Roman sculptures are to be withdrawn from auction tomorrow amid claims that they were stolen from archaeological sites overseas.

Foto: Looted? ... Bonhams is withdrawing four Roman sculptures from its antiquities auction. Photograph: © Dalya Alberge.

Photographs seized by police suggested that the sculptures – funerary busts and a marble statue of a youth from the second century AD – were illicitly excavated, archaeologists told the Guardian.

A spokesman for Bonhams auctioneers said: "Whenever a serious question is raised about an item's provenance we withdraw it from sale pending an internal investigation. We take rigorous care to ensure that we only sell items that have a clear provenance."

Dr David Gill, reader in Mediterranean archaeology at Swansea University, said that the four antiquities bore soil traces that indicated they were excavated during illegal digs. Images in the Bonhams auction catalogue show the same sculptures cleaned and restored.

Archaeologists remain concerned about illegal trading of antiquities and some believe insufficient checks are carried out into their provenance.

Lord Renfrew, the eminent Cambridge archaeologist, warned that "such sales are maintaining London's reputation as a clearing house for looted antiquities".

Gill said the withdrawal was the latest in a series of such incidents in London.

Christos Tsirogiannis, a researcher at Cambridge University and formerly an archaeologist with the Greek ministry of culture, uncovered the evidence suggesting that the sculptures had been illegally excavated. They had been moderately valued, at about £40,000, but he is concerned about the impact of illicit excavations.

He said: "The destruction leaves objects out of context. Even if [an object] is a masterpiece, our duty is to give people history." It is a view shared by most archaeologists.

Since 2003, it has been a criminal offence to deal in "tainted cultural objects", punishable by up to seven years in prison. Renfrew called for auction houses to identify the vendors of antiquities. "That would be a step towards clarifying the problem," he said.

The style of the Roman busts suggests they are of eastern Mediterranean origin and were possibly dug up in Syria or northern Greece. The marble statue probably originates from Italy, archaeologists said.

The Bonhams spokesman said that the firm sends its catalogues for scrutiny to the Art Loss Register – a computerised database – to ensure that only items with clear provenance are sold. "If they raise issues, we also withdraw items," he said.However, Dr Gill said that the Art Loss Register only dealt with stolen items, and not antiquities that may have come from illegal excavations.