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Date Published: 07/11/2022

ARCHIVED - Spanish police recover looted Iberian sculpture dating back to the 4th century

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

The modified sculpture was seized during a raid at private foundation museum in Tarragona, Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Spanish police recover looted Iberian sculpture dating back to the 4th century

The National Police have recovered an Iberian sculpture dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries 'looted' and sold on in the 1990s.

The bull, which has suffered irreversible damage, was discovered at a private foundation museum in the province of Tarragona. In addition to seizing the historical piece, police have also located the alleged 'thief' in Cordoba, at the other end of the country. He reportedly dug up and sold the sculpture to a buyer in Barcelona more than 30 years ago.

It's not clear how it then ended up in the private museum.

The Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute has already completed a study to determine the extent of the damage and modifications carried out and concluded that appropriate conservation recommendations were not followed and that cleaning methods used have caused "irreversible alterations".

Archival image of the sculpture without the irreversible modifications

The investigation began in 2020 when the sculpture, intact and restored, caught the attention of researchers who noticed it was clearly formed from two blocks of stone, blocks police had been looking for for some time. They were referenced in a 2004 academic article published by a prestigious archaeologist as well as a review in a blog by someone based in Cordoba.

Read also: What is that Spanish black bull road sign? The little-known story of the Osborne bulls

After several police enquiries, the Cordoba blogger admitted in a witness statement, since the statute of limitations had already expired, that he found the sculpture whilst carrying out agricultural work on a farm where he worked in the 1990s.

He claims news of the discovery spread quickly and people from across Spain were interested in buying it.

The current Spanish Historical Heritage Law was already in force in the 1990s, "so the discovery should have been reported to the competent authorities as it was public property, but this was not done", according to police sources.

"For this reason, the recognition of the find and subsequent sale by the person who found it proves the illicit provenance of the piece," they added. As yet there have been no details of what, if any, charges will be brought against the alleged looter.

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Image: Policía Nacional

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