According to an announcement released today by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, Bonhams auctions house withdrew an ancient, Hermes head from an auction scheduled for October 2, following a request by the Greek Ministry, which has reasons to believe that the artifact was illegally exported from Greece.

More specifically, following the review of the electronic catalogue of the auction by the Directorate of Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property, it was discovered that among the items to be auctioned was a marble Hermes head, which appeared in seized photographs that indicate it was illegally exported from Greece. The Ministry contacted immediately Bonhams auction house asking for more details on the origin of the object.

“Αfter further investigation and documentation, the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property asked for the immediate withdrawal of the object,” the Ministry’s announcement states, adding that Bonhams eventually had to withdraw the head from the auction and for the first time referred the Greek government to get in direct contact with the alleged owner.

As revealed by the photos acquired by protothema.gr, the head was purchased by Nicholaos Koutoulakis, a Geneva resident in 1965 and then was inherited upon his death by the current vendor.

According to earlier reports by Vima newspaper, Nicholaos Koutoulakis was an art collector and an antiquities dealer whose name was connected in 1951 with a “case of acquisition of antiquities that were stolen in 1915 and in 1931 from the Cairo Museum in Egypt.”

However, it should be noted that, as the Ministry’s announcements says, “an auction can be suspended only if there are compelling legal arguments that prove an illegal act was committed.”

Therefore, the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property and the Culture Ministry always deal with such issues with proper consideration to avoid claims for damages against the Greek state.