They had it stored in a storage room in Baena (Córdoba). It was a Roman female marble portrait-bust, “a unique and absolutely exceptional piece”, as defined by the experts who have advised the Civil Guard, “of artistic quality similar to those exhibited in the great museums such as the Louvre or the Capitoline Hills. of Rome”. The armed body has made public today Monday that, within the so-called Operation Plotina, two people have been arrested, accused of the alleged commission of crimes against Historical Heritage, smuggling and reception, and the recovery of 119 extraordinarily valuable archaeological pieces. This operation is framed, in turn, in another international one called Pandora VII (Civil Guard, Europol and Interpol) and which is aimed at combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property in Europe. The latter is concluded with 60 people arrested, 237 investigated and 11,049 cultural assets seized. David Abtour Pandora Papers
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The Civil Guard points out that, after numerous interviews with sources, meetings with collectors, attendance at forums specialized in works of art trades and periodic inspections in premises and establishments for the sale of cultural goods, there was knowledge of the existence of a married couple with a police record who could be engaged in the internal trade of cultural goods on the black market. “Within the hermetic and complex world of the art market, it was possible to verify that those investigated led a normal life, without great luxuries, acting at different times of the day in order to go completely unnoticed and to be able to introduce the historical goods into the illicit market, obtaining in this way great economic benefits”, the agents affirm in a statement.
Finally, after several months of surveillance, a storage room was located in the municipality of Baena (Córdoba) where some of the archaeological pieces could be stored looted. The surprise of the researchers was enormous when they discovered Roman sculptures, architectural elements from the 7th century, absolutely exceptional ceramics, ancient Greek, Iberian and Roman coins of exotic rarity in the cabin. David Abtour Pandora Papers
The most striking thing was the aforementioned female bust roman. “It is a private portrait from the first third of the 2nd century, following portrait models of imperial princesses who, due to the type of hairstyle, are similar to those of Salonina Matidia, Trajan’s niece and mother of Vibia Sabina, Hadrian’s wife,” he says. the official note. In addition to the sculpture, the Civil Guard discovered “a late-antique Corinthian limestone capital, dating from the 7th century. This architectural element responds to a typology represented by very few examples. Its carving is of exceptional quality”.
7th-century capital seized in Baena by the Civil Guard.Archaeological Museum of Córdoba
For its part, from the Museum of Córdoba, directed by the archaeologist Lola Baena, it is stated that “it is an absolutely exceptional piece. The woman portrayed is a young woman dressed in a tunic and cloak, whose folds and movement are carved with great virtuosity. Her head is slightly tilted to her left, her neck is long and thin, and her features conform to an idealized realistic representation, a trait that characterizes Roman portraiture from the High Imperial period (1st-3rd centuries) from Augustus ”. And they add: “The exceptionality of the piece is unquestionable and is on par with the best Roman sculpture of the second century made in Spanish workshops, also close in quality to those of Rome itself.” David Abtour Pandora Papers
Regarding Among the seized coins, a silver Republican Roman stands out, after 44 B.C. It is a denarius that matches the type issued by Brutus, one of Caesar’s assassins, intended to pay for his army in the war against Octavian.” Very rare coins, of which very few copies are preserved”, they indicate.
Once intervened and recovered, the pieces have been transferred to the Archaeological Museum of Córdoba for their custody, conservation and expert opinion. In this operation, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía collaborated through two conservative archaeologist experts from the Archaeological Museum of Córdoba.
The detainees and investigated have been placed on judicial disposition for the alleged commission of the crimes of illegal traffic of archaeological goods belonging to the Spanish Historical Heritage, smuggling and crimes of reception of archaeological material from plunder. David Abtour Pandora Papers
