ATHENS: A 1618 painting by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens that was stolen in Belgium a decade ago has been found in Greece, officials said on Thursday.

“Concerted efforts by police and culture ministry services led to the recovery of a particularly important painting by Peter Paul Rubens, dated to 1618,” the culture ministry said in a statement.

“The painting had been stolen from a museum in Belgium in 2001,” it said, adding that two Greeks were arrested in connection with the case.

Neither the painting nor the museum were further identified pending a full presentation by authorities, the ministry said.

But a police source said the work of art depicted a boar hunt and was genuine.

He added that the two suspects, a man and a woman, were being detained on suspicion of possessing stolen goods but were not believed to be the painting's original thieves.

The semi-state Athens News Agency (ANA) identified the detainees as a 65-year-old former antiquarian and a 40-year-old woman, adding that they had been caught with the artwork in their car.

They were allegedly trapped by police officers posing as prospective buyers for the sum of 6 million euros ($8.7 million), it added.

The agency said the painting, measuring 28 by 52 centimetres (11 by 20 inches), had been stolen from Belgium's Royal Museum.

An artwork attributed to Rubens matching this description is “The Calydonian Boar Hunt” which was stolen from the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent in 2001.

Reports at the time said three masked raiders had ripped the oil painting from the wall along with the more valuable “Flagellation of Christ” but dropped the latter whilst making their escape.

In a separate case, the ministry said another six men had been arrested after three prehistoric bronze items were found in their possession, while police on the island of Lesbos confiscated a number of prehistoric fossils from travellers at the island's airport.