Greece blocks sale of disputed icons in Britain and Netherlands

EXPATICA
March 16, 2011

NETHERLANDS -- Greek officials have blocked the sale of a dozen religious icons by two art galleries in Britain and the Netherlands after finding the items had been stolen years ago, a police source said on Wednesday. The icons that date from before the 18th century and could each fetch from 5,000 to 15,000 euros ($7,000-21,000) had been pilfered from unguarded monasteries and churches in the sparsely-populated region of Epirus in northwestern Greece. [link]