Christie's appraisal fails to find any looted Libyan

A Christie's spokesman has said that suggestions the auction house was offered antiquities looted in Libya were the result of a "misunderstanding".

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Suggestions by a Christie's official that antiquities looted in Libya during the Arab Spring had been offered to the auction house prompted the company to carry out a full appraisal of the offices handling such items yesterday.

But the checks produced no evidence that any stolen Libyan artefacts had been submitted for sale.

A Christie's spokesman said the remarks, made by the official during a visit to Dubai this week, were the result of a "misunderstanding".