Greece to reclaim ancient horse from US after court ruling

The Greek Culture Ministry said Wednesday it would seek the repatriation from New York of a 2,700-year-old bronze horse statuette which it says was illegally exported from Greece, after a US court rejected an auction house's bid to proceed with the sale of the artifact.

A ministry statement said the appeals court's decision was of "enormous legal importance" and would have broad implications for works of cultural heritage from other countries, too.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the outcome was a major victory in the fight against the illegal trade in antiquities, a lucrative but brutal business that strips ancient artifacts of key cultural and historical information that a proper excavation would reveal.

"The ministry will proceed with every legal process to repatriate the statuette, stressing that when stolen and illegally exported monuments are returned ...