The LA Times are out here reporting that feds are seeing forfeiture of a looted, smuggled, and illegally exported Roman statue (??? excuse ???) they claim was being delivered to Kim Kardashian, but Kim says she had no knowledge of this mess whatsoever.
Page Six says a limestone statue was purchased from the Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Belgium in 2016 and the ancient piece of art known as the “Fragment of Myron’s Samian Athena was flagged when it arrived in Los Angeles in May of that year, at which point authorities realized it was potentially protected cultural property.
Then in 2018, Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage sent over an archaeologist to check it out, who determined the statue had been “looted, smuggled, and illegally exported from Italy.” The feds have now filed a civil forfeiture complaint asking Kim to relinquish the statue. The problem? She says she literally never bought it!
May 6, 2021
The US government is asking Kim Kardashian to forfeit an ancient Roman sculpture that was apparently illegally smuggled out of Italy.
Kardashian bought the limestone statue, known as “Fragment of Myron’s Samian Athena,” in 2016 from Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Belgium. The antique artwork which dates back to the 1st or 2nd century was stopped when it arrived in Los Angeles in May 2016, after authorities were alerted that it might be protected cultural property.
It was part of a 5.5-ton shipment valued at $745,882, and said to contain 40 antiques, as well as Modern furniture and decorative objects. Further examination of paperwork about the statue had some discrepancies, leading officials to become suspicious about where it had actually come from. Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage then sent an archaeologist in 2018 to examine the work.
Kim Kardashian West Denies Purchasing Looted Ancient Roman Statue
KEY POINTS
The art piece in question is a limestone sculpture, dating back to the 1st or 2nd century
Kardashian says she has no knowledge of the transaction
The statue, seized in the U.S. in 2016, is allegedly stolen from Italy
Kim Kardashian West is in the news again; this time, she has landed herself in an illegal art smuggling controversy after an ancient Roman sculpture was imported in her name to California. According to U.S. officials, the statue was stolen from Italy. But the 40-year-old reality TV star denies purchasing the art piece.