7,000-year-old Trypillian vase attempted to be smuggled from Ukraine to Switzerland

The State Customs Service of Ukraine reported the information.

A resident of the Kyiv region attempted to send an international mail shipment to Switzerland. The accompanying documents described the parcel as containing clothes and a gift.

However, during customs inspection, Kyiv specialists discovered "a ceramic item with clear signs of antiquity" and forwarded it for examination to the National Museum of History of Ukraine.

“According to experts, the item submitted for examination is a painted vessel on a pallet. Such products are typical of the cultural community of the Kukutenyi-Trypillia of the Eneolithic period. The specifics of the morphology and features 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,” customs officers report. 

                                                                                                   Photo: State Customs Service of Ukraine

According to the expert opinion, the upper part of the vase features a complex design with stylized snakes, while the lower part displays semi-oval arcs. The vase, constructed from glued ceramic fragments, is authentic based on its preservation level and the similarity of its shape and decoration.

“Despite the modern intervention, the vase has an authentic component, which is a subject of archeology and has cultural value. According to the current legislation of Ukraine, the export of cultural property abroad requires permits. The customs officers were not provided with such documents,” the statement said.

                                                                                                  Photo: State Customs Service of Ukraine

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.