Greeks Announce Possible Claim; Christie’s Hasn’t Received It

UPDATE from Bloomberg: Christie’s says the sale will go on.
Greek Culture Minister George Voulgarakis sent a letter yesteday to Christie’s, London, asking the auction house to halt a planned sale tomorrow and Thursday of 850 lots formerly from the collection of King George I of Greece, according to a report in today’s Bloomberg.
This is not another Greek antiquities claim: The sale is comprised of silver, Fabergé, furniture, paintings, objets d’art and Chinese jade and porcelain.
Bloomberg quotes Voulgarakis as saying: “The items to be auctioned are an indivisible part of the history of the modern Greek state and our cultural heritage and raises the question of the illegal export of cultural goods from the Greek state.”
The only problem, Maria Petrakis reports from Athens, is that Christie’s didn’t get this message:
“The Greek authorities haven’t been in touch,” Alexandra Kindermann, a Christie’s spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview today. “Nothing has arrived here so at the moment. The sale is going ahead.” She declined to identify the sellers, citing client confidentiality.
According to Christie’s New York press office (and its website), the sale is still going forward, at this writing.
Haven’t the Greeks heard of faxes, e-mail or even the telephone? And doesn’t Christie’s think it prudent to check with Voulgarakis, before giving its clients possible provenance problems?