Customs officers prevent smuggling of almost 7,000-year-old Trypillian vase from Ukraine to Switzerland. PHOTO
An ancient vase of the archaeological culture of the Cucuteni-Trypillia of the Eneolithic period was seized from an international mail shipment.
This was reported by the State Customs Service, Censor.NET reports.
"According to the accompanying documents, the parcel sent to Switzerland by a resident of Kyiv region contained clothes and a gift. However, during the customs control of this shipment, Kyiv customs officers found a ceramic product with obvious signs of antiquity, so they sent it for examination to the National Museum of History of Ukraine," the statement said.
According to the experts, the object submitted for examination is a painted vessel on a pallet. Such products are typical of the Cucuteni-Trypillia cultural community of the Eneolithic period. The specifics of the morphology and the peculiarities of the painting give grounds to assert that the vessel belongs to the middle of the fifth millennium B.C. Vases of similar shape and painting come from settlements in the Dniester Valley.
The upper part of the vase has a complex plot in the form of stylised snakes, and the lower part has semi-oval arcs. The vase consists of glued together ceramic fragments, the authenticity of which is indicated by the level of preservation, as well as the similarities in shape and painting. Despite the modern intervention, the vase has an authentic component that is a subject of archaeology and has cultural value.
Customs officers were not provided with permits to export cultural property abroad.
The Kyiv Customs drew up a protocol on violation of customs rules under Article 473 of the Customs Code of Ukraine.
The vase was seized.
