Posted on 06/25/2007 5:44:20 AM PDT by BGHater
A mysterious golden pot discovered in a Bavarian lake in 2001 has been the focus of interest for archaeologists, art dealers -- and now the German and Swiss police. Its convoluted history involves Nazi cults, treasure hunters and modern-day profiteers.
So there it was, the legendary "Holy Grail" -- in a safe not far from the Zurich airport. Investor Svetlana K. from Kazahkstan had been prepared for almost anything on that day last March. But when she saw what had been described as "probably the most important art-historical discovery in the Western Hemisphere" in front of her, all the other superlatives used in the four-page prospectus faded into the background. "An object of such pre-eminence has probably never been introduced onto the open art market," the document stated, adding that, "Given the proper promotion, experts believe its value could reach a sum of around €1 billion" ($1.4 billion).
A veritable dream bargain seemed to be just within reach: The vessel -- made of 11 kilograms (24.3 lbs) of gold, decorated with Celtic ornaments and said to be more than 2,000 years old -- did indeed exercise an irresistible fascination on the beholder.
But the woman from Kazakhstan had been warned that there was one hitch: She had to snap up the bargain quickly. After all, an investment opportunity like this doesn't come along every day, she was told. That made sense to Svetlana K. and her business partner Vladimir T., and a short time later they transfered the equivalent of €1.1 million ($1.5 million) to Switzerland via a Moscow bank, in exchange for a share of the potential earnings from the marketing of the golden pot.
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
oldie but goodie
Nazi-Holy grail ping
Nice. I’ll invest in a cut just as soon as I send my money order to this nice Nigerian fellow who’s going to give me 15 million dollars in return.
Calling Indiana Jones!
I’ve got it in my gun safe.
Nazis were very gullible.
I hate to hint about the gruesome, but the thought occurred to me that if there is a Nazi link and the gold was from the 40’s, the source of that gold could have been from thousands of victims that made the gold donations and then went up in smoke.
(2) The style and workmanship of the pictured object indicate that it is significantly younger than 2,000 years old.
I’ll wait for the Ark of the Covenant...
The spear is hidden somewhere in Castle Wolfenstein!
That’s not the cup of a carpenter!
Here is the real grail:
Exactly. Obviously the real grail would look more like this:
It weighs over 24 lbs.
Kinda heavy for a “grail”
Carpenters didn't have 11 kg gold cups hanging around.
I made that in high school art class!
I thought the “grail” was that the king and the land are one...
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