‘Not an experienced collector’
Art historian Maria Kotzamani, who had once been shown the Kypseli collection by Passas himself, had this to say: «I went there before the dictatorship and he showed me the collection. Passas was an extrovert but he was in no way an experienced collector like Alexandros Iolas, who had an excellent eye and a great instinct,» she said. Denis Zacharopoulos is another art historian who had visited the Passas residence. «He had both good and insignificant pieces in his collection. I remember that the showcases were filled with things but it was said that he bought «packages» of objects from antique dealers overseas that included many objects that were not all of great value. Many collectors at that time did not have specialized knowledge and created collections that contained some objects that had not been properly evaluated.»
