A while back I wrote some thoughts about the display of repatriated artefacts in Greek and Egyptian museums. When I visited the Athens National Museum last week to see the Praxiteles exhibition, I noticed another example, this time a Macedonian gold wreath that had recently been returned from the Getty. Interestingly, the day of return was pointed out very precisely as 22 March 2007. It is now displayed in one of the central halls of the museum and only one of a list of 50+ pieces that are being returned to Greece and Italy from the Getty. For more on this, see also David Gill’s new blog Looting matters. A couple of additional photos below the fold.
The return of the wreath is discussed with the other Getty material by Gill and Chippindale in the latest number of the International Journal of Cultural Property (2007). Abstract and full details from the link.
Thanks for that tip, David. I’m taking the liberty of quoting this passage about the wreath from the article:
One item from the “Hellenistic” section [of the Getty museum] was returned to Greece in 2007. The gold wreath is said to have been discovered near Serres in northern Greece in 1990 before passing through the antiquities market in Germany and Switzerland (Appendix B, no. 3). It was purchased for $1.15 million in 1993 with Christoph Leon of Basel acting as agent. (p. 209)