The Lost Chalice

In The Lost Chalice, celebrated journalist and archaeologist Vernon Silver solves the mystery of the disappearance of a masterpiece: a 2500-year-old chalice depicting the battle of Troy, created by one of the finest artists in ancient Greece. In 1990, the chalice disappeared into the shadowy world of the illegal antiquities trade. Silver combines the excitement of an Indiana Jones adventure with the gritty realities of the underground art trade in the dramatic story of this priceless work of art.

To locate the chalice, Silver retraces its history: from a Trojan War battlefield to an Athens pottery workshop, from an Italian crypt to the spoils of tomb robbers, and from international smugglers to a series of modern-day art collectors, including a Hollywood producer and a Texas billionaire. The Lost Chalice is a thrilling, real-life detective story and treasure hunt that spans more than 2000 years of history.

Vernon Silver, an Oxford-trained archaeologist, has reported on art and culture for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Spy Magazine, Playboy, Vibe, Us and many other publications. He is a senior writer at Bloomberg News in Rome, where he covers the illicit art trade. Silver has won an Overseas Press Club of America award and has been honored by the New York Press Club, Livingston Awards, Deadline Club, National Headliner Awards, Society of Professional Journalists and others. He lives in Rome.

"Vernon Silver has written an utterly compelling, page-turner of a book ... It's a terrific read, from start to finish." -- James L. Swanson, author of Manhunt