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Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles announced Thursday that it will return ancient sculptures and other works of art illegally exported from Italy.
The Getty Museum will return a near-life-size group of Greek terracotta sculptures known as "Orpheus and the Sirens," believed to date from the 4th century BC, according to the museum.
This group of sculptures was purchased by his J. Paul Getty in 1976, shortly before his death, and has been on display for decades.
However, the museum now believes it was illegally excavated and removed from Italy based on evidence uncovered by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Getty said in a statement. Stated.
"Very rare, no similarities in our collection, no similarities in any collection," Timothy Potts, director of the Getty Museum, told Los Angeles in his Times. Told. "It leaves a hole in our gallery, but now that evidence of this has emerged, there was no doubt that it should be sent back to Italy."
Fragile Sculptures Getty said it will be sent to Rome in September to join a collection designated by the Ministry of Culture.
The museum is also working with the Ministry of Culture to arrange the return of four other of his objects in the future. They include a 4th-century BC Etruscan bronze incense burner, along with a stone mold for casting a "colossal marble head of God" and a pendant. According to Getty, a 19th-century painting by Camilo Miola entitled "The Oracle of Delphi."
