Turkish military forces invaded Cyprus in 1974, seizing control of northern Cyprus. Within this area in the village of Lythrankomi was the Church of the Panagia Kanakaria, home to a large mosaic depicting Jesus as a child in the Virgin Mary’s lap surrounded by two archangels and the twelve apostles. The mosaic had been affixed to the apse of the Church; however, some time after the Greek Cypriot priests had evacuated the village in 1976 the mosaic was greatly damaged after being ripped from the apse. In 1979, the Republic of Cyprus learned of the looting of the Church and began contacting various individuals (scholars, curators) and organizations (e.g. UNESCO, International Council of Museums and Sites, Europa Nostra, Council of Europe, international auction houses, museums, etc.) in an effort to recover the pieces of the mosaic and other looted artefacts. The four missing mosaic pieces depicted Jesus, the apostles Matthew and James, as well as the bust of one of the archangels.

In the summer of 1988, the Indiana-based American art dealer and gallery operator, Peg Goldberg (of Goldberg and Feldman Fine Arts, Inc.), travelled to Europe seeking to purchase new pieces for her gallery. Goldberg’s primary interest lay in 20^th century paintings, sketches and sculptures; however, her friend and fellow art dealer, Robert Fitzgerald, suggested that she consider purchasing “four early Christian mosaics”. Fitzgerald organized a meeting on July 1^st in Amsterdam between Goldberg, Michel van Rijn (a Dutch art dealer) and Ronald Faulk (an attorney from California). Goldberg did not know anything about these men other than what she learned during their meetings, including that van Rijn had earlier been convicted of art forgery in France and was an expert on Christian icons. During that first meeting, van Rijn had shown Goldberg photos of the four mosaics and told her that an unidentified seller wanted $3 million (USD) for the pieces. Van Rijn explained to Goldberg that the seller “was a Turkish antiquities dealer who had ‘found’ the mosaics in the rubble of an ‘extinct ’Church in northern Cyprus while working as an archaeologist ‘assigned (by Turkey) to northern Cyprus”. Van Rijn informed Goldberg that the seller had exported the pieces to his home in Munich, Germany after being granted permission by the Turkish Cypriot government (this government is recognized only by Turkey) and that he was eager to sell the pieces quickly due to an urgent “cash problem” resulting from health issues. Goldberg later learned the seller was Aydin Dikman.

The California attorney, Faulk, travelled that day to Munich to inform Dikman that Goldberg was interested in the mosaics. On July 1^st and 2^nd, Faulk met with Dikman who showed Faulk documents which he “claimed were proof that the mosaics had been exported properly from northern Cyprus”. After returning to Amsterdam on July 2^nd, Faulk told Goldberg that “in his opinion, the export documents appeared to be in order”. These documents were submitted as evidence during the trial; however, “none of these documents…even mentions Dikman or the four mosaics at issue”.

On July 3^rd, 1988, Goldberg came to an agreement (which was executed on July 4^th) with van Rijn, Fitzgerald and Faulk to purchase the mosaics for $1.08 million (USD). Goldberg secured a loan from the Merchants National Bank of Indianapolis for $1.2 million (USD), claiming that she required an additional $120 000 (USD) “to pay for expenses, insurance, restoration and the like”. Goldberg had to wait a few days for the money to arrive and she claims that during this time she contacted several organizations (UNESCO and the International Foundation for Art Research) to inquire about the status of the mosaics. She also claimed to have contacted customs officials in Turkey, Germany, the United States and Switzerland. None of these organizations or agencies could locate any evidence that Goldberg had contacted them.

On July 7^th, 1988 the transaction was completed at the Geneva airport in Switzerland and Goldberg returned to the U.S. with the mosaics the following day. Soon after, she began preparations for reselling the mosaics and contacted other art dealers in an effort to find a buyer. Two dealers were led to Dr. Marion True of the Getty Museum in California who revealed that she had a “working relationship with the Republic of Cyprus  and that she was duty-bound to contact Cypriot officials” about the mosaics. She contacted the Director of the Republic of Cyprus’ Department of Antiquities, Dr. Vassos Karageorghis, who confirmed that the mosaics in question were being sought by the Republic of Cyprus. Dr. Karageorghis sent a request to Goldberg for the return of the mosaics, but she refused. The Republic of Cyprus and the Church of Cyprus then filed suit in 1990 for the recovery of the mosaics in the Southern District of Indiana. The judge awarded possession to the Church of Cyprus. Goldberg filed an appeal for a rehearing but her appeal was denied and the district court judge’s decision was affirmed.