An ancient Greek lekythos (oil flask) is repatriated to Greece from the United States after the museum where it was displayed decided to voluntarily return it to its country of origin.
The Attic 12-centimeter vessel, depicting a battle between goddess Athena and a giant, was excavated in 1910 from a tomb in Athens’ Kerameikos cemetary. It was later removed under unknown circumstances between 1936 and 1976.
The artifact was auctioned in December 1973 in New York by Sotheby’s, as part of an auction of the Hagop Kevorkian Fund’s estate. The buyer later anonymously donated it to the Glencairn Museum, in Pennsylvania, where it had been on display until now.
After an investigation by the museum and Greece’s Directorate for the Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property proving the origins of the black-figured vessel, Glencairn notified Greece of its decision to return the artifact.
The Attic lekythos was handed over to Greece’s Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni during a ceremony held at the Greek Embassy in Washington, D.C.. Mendoni expressed Greece’s gratitude towards the museum, saying the return is a gesture of ” massive symbolic significance.”
“This small but stunning sample of ancient Greek black-figure pottery is returning home, thanks to the generous and important gesture of the Museum’s director, Dr. Brian Henderson. It is important that this repatriation was not a result of an official request of Greek authorities. To the contrary, it was initiated by Glencairn Museum itself, as part of a re-examination process of the artifacts’ origins displayed in its collections,” Mendoni added.
More ancient Greek artifacts repatriated from the Unite States last year
In September 2024, Greece welcomed three repatriated ancient masterpieces from the United States, which were previously owned by a US citizen, but they had been removed from Greece at an unknown time.
The first artifact is part of a marble tombstone. It measures 0.55 meters (1.8 ft) in height and 0.60 meters (almost 2 ft) in width. The flat relief depicts a female figure holding an open jewel case.
The second item is part of an Attic sepulchral church made of Pentelian marble and the third item is a bronze statuette of a young, nude man, likely an athlete. It measures 0.24 meters (0.78 ft) in height. The figure stands with his right leg firmly on the ground.
Officials handed over the three items to the Consulate General of Greece in Atlanta from where they were returned to Greece.
This particular repatriation of ancient Greek masterpieces reflects a growing global trend to raise awareness about the preservation of cultural heritage. Numerous initiatives aim to return antiquities to their countries of origin.
The Sculpture Gallery of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Athens houses the three Greek masterpieces now being kept safe at the Plato Academy.