Glossary Collecting and the antiquities trade
Antiquities Law (Cyprus)
Also called: Cap. 31
The Cypriot statute governing excavation, ownership, dealing and export of antiquities, first enacted in 1905 and recast in 1935.
The first British antiquities statute, Law 4 of 1905, declared antiquities Government property, required permits to excavate and banned export without written permission. The law of 1935 created the Department of Antiquities, licensed dealers and export, ended the division of finds with excavators in principle, and allowed private individuals to hold declared collections. At independence in 1960 it continued as Cap. 31.
Major changes followed. From 1964 all excavated finds vested in the Cyprus Museum; registration of private collections closed in December 1973; and the amendment of 1996 prohibited dealing and limited export licences to temporary exhibition or scientific study. This history explains why so much Cypriot material is lawfully abroad and why its paperwork varies with the date of export. It is a historical outline, and no substitute for legal advice.
Full entry: The Legal Export of Cypriot Antiquities
Related terms
- Department of Antiquities (Cyprus)
The government body responsible for the archaeology, museums and ancient monuments of Cyprus, created by the Antiquities Law of 1935.
- Export licence
An official permit allowing an antiquity to leave its country of origin; in Cyprus, issued by the Department of Antiquities from 1935.
- Licensed dealer
A trader authorised by the Cyprus Department of Antiquities to buy and sell antiquities, a lawful role from 1935 until dealing was banned in 1996.
- Partage
The division of excavated finds between the host country and the excavators, the system by which many Cypriot antiquities lawfully went abroad.