The Plunderers Treasure Trail
' It is one of the two or three finest works of Art ever gained by the Metropolitan Museum, and from this moment the histories of Art will have to be rewritten.'
With these jubilant words the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced the million dollar purchase of the Euphronios Vase - the so-called ' hot pot' - and started a controversy which is still raging. We investigate the mystery behind the deal and the trail takes us from New York to the Etruscan hills in Italy, where we meet tomb robbers, policemen, and a man who fakes pots for a living.
-The tombs of Egypt and the temples of India are also being plundered to satisfy the needs of the ever-greedy market for antiquities. We ask who is ultimately responsible for the destruction of the past, the men who steal, or the men who buy for high prices? Reporter JOHN PERCIVAL
Executive producer PAUL JOHNSTONE Producer JULIA CAVE