A court in Bulgaria has ruled to allow the confiscation of some Byzantine plates currently in Greek Museums that they believe were obtained from illegal excavations. Greece is normally on the other side of disputes such as this – it will be interesting to see if they apply the same rationale to their response as they do to their own restitution requests.

From:
Balkan Travellers

BalkanTravellers.com
12 March 2009
Bulgarian court ruling

A Bulgarian court recently ruled for the confiscation of the nine Byzantine plates purchased by three Greek museums in Greece in 2004.

The confiscation is possible on the basis of a special EU law, which Greece has not yet adopted, according to the Kathimerini newspaper.
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A Byzantine Icon was returned to Greece last month after being smuggled out of the country 30 years ago – the country still awaits the return of the Elgin Marbles however, which are seen as by far the most important reunification request.

From:
The Epoch Times

Greece Welcomes Return of Byzantine Icon
Culture minister still awaits returns of ‘Elgin’ marbles
Reuters Dec 14, 2008

ATHENS—Britain returned a 14th century Byzantine icon to Greek authorities last month, 30 years after it was stolen from a monastery in northern Greece, the Culture Ministry said.

The painting of Christ being taken down from the Cross was snatched from a monastery in the city of Serres in 1978 and discovered in 2002 in the hands of a Greek collector in London.
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This case is unusual, inasmuch as the fact that Greece is on the opposite side of the argument to usual.

From:
Balkan Travellers

Silver Plates Owned by Greece and Claimed by Bulgaria Will Not Participate in Byzantium Art Show
BalkanTravellers.com
10 September 2008

The Greek-owned Byzantine set, consisting of nine silver plates dating to the twelfth century, will not participate in Europe’s biggest Byzantine-themed exhibition of the last 50 years, Greek media reported today.

The plates will not be among the 100 artefacts that Greece contributes to the show because the dispute with Bulgaria, which has laid legal claims over the set, has not been settled yet, according to the Ta Nea newspaper.
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