New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned an ancient bronze griffin head stolen nearly a century ago to a museum in southern Greece, the latest repatriation marking a broader shift in the museum world to return significant artifacts.
The 7th century B.C. artifact was on display at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, the city that in ancient times was the birthplace of the games that later inspired the modern Olympic Games.
Greece’s culture minister, Lina Mendoni, attended a ceremony Friday at the museum, calling the return a significant moment.
“After decades of absence, the griffin returns from the Metropolitan Museum in New York to the place it belongs,” she said, praising the joint effort by the Culture Ministry and the Met to trace the artifact’s past. The ceremony coincided with a visit to Greece by members of the International Olympic Committee to elect a new president. Kirsty Coventry became the first woman and first African to lead the global body.
The griffin, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, symbolized strength and divine protection in ancient Greece. The bronze head will now be displayed alongside a similar griffin head already at the Olympia museum.
The Met has recently increased its efforts to review the history of its holdings, hiring additional experts to track the origins of objects in its collection.
“We are grateful for our long-standing partnership with the Greek government and look forward to continued engagement and cultural exchange,” the Met's museum director Max Hollein said in a statement.
Institutions across the world in recent years have begun to acknowledge the importance of returning significant cultural items while still promoting global access to heritage. As part of this new framework, Greece has agreed to loan the griffin head back to the Met for future exhibitions, Mendoni said.
Athens is hoping the new, more open approach will boost its decades-long campaign for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, taken from the Acropolis in Athens in the 19th century and now in the British Museum. The government — citing their cultural importance and illegal removal — says it is making slow progress in negotiations with the London museum.
