For owners, heirs and executors
Own a Cypriot antiquity? Send us a few photos
Thousands of ancient Cypriot pots, figurines and limestone heads sit in family homes far from the island. Most left Cyprus legally, many of them with a numbered export licence or a lead seal tied through a handle, and most of them have lost their paperwork along the way. If one has come to you, we can help you work out what it is and what to do next.
The help is free and there is no obligation. Ancient Cyprus is a non-commercial project, and every message is read by Alexis Drakopoulos personally. We will never publish your objects, your photos or your name without your permission.
Get in touch
Email us your photos and what you know
The button opens an email with a short list of questions already filled in. Answer what you can, attach the photos below, and we usually reply within a few days.
Or write to alexis@ancientcyprus.com
What we can help with
- Tell you what it is: the ware or type, its period and roughly where on the island it was made.
- Explain what its labels, numbers and paperwork mean, and how it probably left Cyprus.
- Spot reproductions, souvenirs and over-restored pieces.
- Set out the options honestly: keeping, selling, donating or returning to Cyprus.
- Point you to the right appraiser, conservator or cultural-property lawyer when you need one.
What to send
Photographs
- Every side of the object, in daylight and without flash
- The base and, for vessels, the inside of the mouth
- Close-ups of any label, painted number, sticker, lead seal or inscription
- One photo with a ruler or coin beside it for scale
- Any chips, cracks, joins or areas that look repainted
Anything on paper
- Export licences, receipts or invoices, whatever their age
- Letters, diaries or old photographs that show or mention the piece
- Auction catalogues, insurance schedules or probate inventories
- What the family remembers: who acquired it, where and roughly when
Not sure what a mark or label means? Our guide to export licences, lead seals and labels shows what to look for. Photograph it either way.
Before you write, please don't
- Clean, wash, glue or repaint anything: surface deposits and old repairs are evidence.
- Remove labels, tags, wax seals or lead seals, even loose ones. Bag them with the object.
- Split up a group before it has been recorded. Pieces bought together often share one licence.
- List it for sale online before you know what it is.
How we work
We are not lawyers and we do not issue formal valuations, so when you need either we will say so and suggest who to ask. We are open about our own conduct: the Antiquity Preservation Fund follows its Cultural Heritage Policy and Heritage Protection commitments.
Prefer another route? See the contact page.
Guides for owners
Read first, or read after you write
Inherited Cypriot Antiquities? What You Have and Your Options
Most Cypriot antiquities in family homes left the island legally, often under numbered licences. How to identify a piece, read its marks and weigh your options.
How to Identify Ancient Cypriot Pottery: A Visual Guide
A ware-by-ware key to Cypriot pottery (Red Polished, White Painted, Base Ring, White Slip, Bichrome, Black-on-Red) with dates and safe checks to make at home.
Cyprus Export Licences, Lead Seals and Labels: Reading the Marks
How to read a Cyprus export licence, a lead seal stamped C.M., a Cyprus Museum S.R. number or a dealer's stock number, and where each one can still be checked.
What Is My Cypriot Antiquity Worth? Real Auction Prices
A Cypriot pot can sell for 70 pounds and a limestone head for 150,000 dollars. Real auction lots show how ware, condition and provenance set the price.
Cypriot Pottery Replicas and Fakes: Is My Piece Real?
Most doubtful Cypriot pots are honest souvenirs or restored originals. How to tell replicas, repairs, forgeries and ancient copies apart, and what TL can prove.
Brought Back from Cyprus: A Guide to Family Antiquities
Soldiers, officials, teachers and tourists bought Cypriot antiquities legally for decades. What was allowed when, which papers to find, and what it means now.
Selling Cypriot Antiquities Legally: A Step-by-Step Guide
How to sell an inherited Cypriot collection: inventory, identification, the provenance file buyers want, checks with Cyprus, UK, US and EU law, and sale routes.
Selling Cypriot Antiquities in the UK: Law, Auctions and Export
Selling a Cypriot antiquity in Britain is legal. What decides a sale: the 2003 Act, auction checks, Cyprus withdrawal requests, and export and EU import rules.
Selling Cypriot Antiquities in the US: What the Law Allows
The 2002 US-Cyprus agreement controls what enters America. What it means for a piece already here, when stolen-property law applies and how sales are checked.
Returning or Donating Cypriot Antiquities: How It Works
How heirs hand Cypriot antiquities back to Cyprus through the Department of Antiquities or an embassy, and what museums ask for before they accept a gift.
Antiquities in an Estate: A Practical Guide for Executors
How executors should secure, inventory, value and sell or donate antiquities in an estate: UK probate and US appraisal rules, museum routes and Cypriot checks.
I Inherited Antiquities: What to Do First, Step by Step
First steps with inherited ancient pots or figurines: keep groups and labels together, photograph everything, find the paperwork, then see if they are Cypriot.
How to Sell Antiquities Legally: Laws, Provenance and Steps
Selling an inherited antiquity in the UK, US or EU: what UNESCO 1970, ownership laws, the UK 2003 Act and US import rules require, and the papers buyers want.