Controversial treasures on display in Bulgaria

Dozens of art treasures went on display in Bulgaria, eight months after a contested law allowed private collectors to declare ownership of ancient art and artefacts without proving their origin.

A marble bust of the Roman emperor Traianus Decius, from the third-century AD and three sculptures by the French master Auguste Rodin were among the 200 artefacts from 32 collections in the Sofia show called The Other Museum.

The first of its kind, the exhibition was aimed at boosting the public image of private collectors seen as having benefited from an explosion in art looting and smuggling since the fall of Communism in 1989.

Until last year, all archaeological artefacts and ancient artworks were considered as belonging to the state and subject to confiscation.

But Bulgaria's constitutional court in October approved a controversial new law opening the way for private collectors to come forward and exhibit their possessions, even if they could not prove their origin.

Under the new rules, collectors can register works which they have held for more than five years, and which they declare they did not steal.

New archaeological finds will still have to be reported to the state, on pain of a fine and potential jail term.

Opponents of the law are concerned it will encourage looting, which is commonplace at the 40,000 archaeological sites, including 15,000 Thracian burial mounds, scattered across Bulgaria. Many artefacts have found their way into private collectors' hands.

But collectors said they perceive themselves as helping the state preserve a heritage that would otherwise have been smuggled abroad.

They welcomed the opportunity to take their treasures out in the open and also urged the government to lift restrictions on the ancient art trade.