'Indiana Jones of art' finds stolen Cyprus mosaic
AFP
The man nicknamed "the Indiana Jones of the art world" has done it again - this time tracking down a precious sixth-Century mosaic stolen from Cyprus.
Finding the 1,600-year-old piece in a flat in Monaco had felt very special, Dutchman Arthur Brand said.
He handed the work over to the Cypriot embassy in The Hague on Friday.
Mr Brand has achieved fame recovering stolen artwork since 2015 when he found Hitler's Horses - two Nazi statues that stood outside Hitler's office.
Where was the Cypriot mosaic?
The Byzantine depiction of Saint Mark was stolen in the 1970s from Panayia Kanakaria church, about 105km (65 miles) north-east of the Cypriot capital, Nicosia.
Mr Brand spent nearly two years chasing the work across Europe, finally tracking it down in the possession of a British family.
They had "bought the mosaic in good faith more than four decades ago", the investigator told AFP news agency.
"They were horrified when they found out that it was in fact a priceless art treasure, looted from the Kanakaria church after the Turkish invasion," Mr Brand said.
"It was one of the greatest moments of my life," the investigator said.
The newest instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise, which stars Harrison Ford in the title role, is scheduled for release in 2020.
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