Provenance: The Eyes of Christ
Fragments of broken ceramics lead disgraced professor, now turned art detective, Ava Bernardi on a risky mission to Syria in search of a priceless mosaic.
With over $5 billion of art and antiquities stolen each year, art is the third largest illicit market in the world after drugs and guns. This is big business, and its perpetrators hardened criminals. often hiding behind the respectable façade of museums and galleries. Scratch the surface and beneath the cracked veneer you’ll find them, barely visible, hidden in the darkness.
None understand this better than Ava Bernardi, disgraced former professor at the Courtauld Institute, now turned art detective. But in the murky world of fakers and frauds – where provenance is all – it’s easy to forget who you really are.
When suspicious packages from the Middle East are intercepted at Dover by UK Customs, they are found to contain fragments of broken ceramics, leading Ava on a dangerous mission to Syria.
By Richard Monks
Ava Bernardi ..... Juliet Aubrey
Joe ..... Josh Bolt
Detective Inspector Okoro ..... Cyril Nri
Ellie ..... Cecilia Appiah
Al-Khatib ..... Khalid Laith
Ibrahim ..... Nabil Elouahabi
Hakim ..... Walles Hammond
Aya ..... Lara Sawalha
Other voices were played by the cast.
Production manager, Eleanor Mein
Script supervisor, Liis Miik
Executive producer, Sara Davies
Original music, Ioana Selaru
Sound design and mix, Steve Bond.
Directed and produced by Nicolas Jackson
An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4
On radio
Broadcast
- Tue 22 Sep 202614:15BBC Radio 4
Opening Lines
John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.
The Shakespeare Sessions
Immerse yourself in Shakespeare’s world
