A museum in Münster, Germany returned the head of an ancient marble statue to Greece.
The stone head belonged to a complete marble statue of a man, dated around 150 CE. Research conducted by the Archaeological Museum of the University of Münster concluded that the island of Thasos was its place of origin. It is unclear when or why the statue was removed from its original site.
The Marblehead was gifted to the museum by a German collector in 1989. However, the museum recently discovered that the object had unclear ownership history prior to that. Thus, the museum decided to return the artifact to Greece.
In a repatriation ceremony, Achim Lichtenberger (Director, Münster Museum) said that the return of the Marblehead will allow it to be displayed and researched alongside its counterparts. He also added that the museum regularly evaluates its inventory to check for any such cases of dubious provenance. Meanwhile, Lina Mendoni (Culture Minister, Greece) lauded the Münster Museum and called the repatriation a fair resolution to this issue.
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The event is also noteworthy because repatriation is generally a messy affair that often involves prolonged diplomacy and legal battles. Greece itself is embroiled in a battle to acquire the Parthenon Marbles from the UK, the latter claiming sole ownership of the ancient artifacts. Germany, however, has been one of the few countries at the forefront of repatriating once-stolen artifacts to their rightful owners and countries alike.
