Eighteen Cypriot antiquities repatriated from US after online auction discovery

Eighteen Cypriot antiquities have been handed over to the embassy of the Republic of Cyprus Embassy in Washington after being identified in an online auction by officials monitoring the illegal trafficking of cultural artefacts, the antiquities department said on Monday.

The artefacts were discovered by archaeological officers responsible for tracking the illicit trade of Cypriot antiquities on the internet.

Following consultations with the auction house, the lots were withdrawn from sale and transferred to the Cypriot embassy in Washington on February 23, 2026.

According to the department, the collection includes two vessels from the Early Bronze Age, dating between 2500 and 1900 BC, and 11 vessels from the Middle Bronze Age, dated between 1900 and 1600 BC.

The items also include three vessels from the Cypro-Archaic I period (750–600 BC), one vessel from the Cypro-Archaic II period (600–480 BC), and a limestone male statue head dating to the 4th century BC.

The department expressed its gratitude to Sloans & Kenyon Auctioneers & Appraisers and the artefacts’ possessors for voluntarily returning the antiquities to their country of origin.

It also thanked the embassy in Washington for its cooperation and coordination in facilitating the repatriation process.