The Metropolitan Museum of New York will return a valuable bronze griffin to Greece

The Metropolitan Museum in New York is preparing to return a valuable bronze griffin head from the 7th century B.C.E. to Greece : this was announced yesterday at a ceremony held at the American museum, where the Greek minister of culture, Lina Mendoni, and the Met’s director, Max Hollein, met. The bronze head of the griffin, from ancient Olympia, until yesterday occupied a prominent place in the wing of the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities: ornamenting a bronze tripod dating from 650-625 B.C., it is a splendid example of ancient Greek metalwork and returns to Greece after a long and systematic collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and the Museum.

The investigation conducted by the relevant Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of Greece at the Archives of the Archaeological Service proved beyond doubt that the MET griffin head is identical to the one found in ancient Olympia in December 1914 by archaeologist Themistocles Karachalios. The ancient artifact was found in the bed of the Cladeo River, near the ancient Gymnasium of Olympia, on land washed away by the river, and was delivered by Karachalios to the Museum of Ancient Olympia, where it was cleaned up. The first publication of the ancient head accompanied by photographic documentation was in 1915, in the Archaeological Bulletin, the official organ of the Archaeological Service. According to archival material identified by the relevant Directorate, the griffin was allegedly stolen in the 1930s from the museum in Olympia, where it had remained undocumented until then. The first mention of its loss occurs in 1937-1938, in the annual report of German archaeologists engaged in excavations in Olympia. In 1940, the Archaeological Service investigated the case of theft, which appears to have occurred in 1936, and took appropriate action against the people who were responsible for the custody of the collections at that time.

Relevant research in the MET archives confirmed the time of the head’s theft, as it appears that the artifact was sold in the summer of 1936 by a Greek antiquities dealer to the American antiquities dealer J. Brummer, only to be sold, in 1948, to W.C. Baker and end up, following a donation, in 1971, along with the other objects in the Baker Collection, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

As the Minister of Culture pointed out in his message of greeting at the ceremony, “this specific repatriation is particularly important, since it is not the result of a claim by the Greek authorities. On the contrary, the MET itself, in 2018, took the initiative to investigate the provenance of this griffin head, which had been part of the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities since the early 1970s, following a private donation.” Lina Mendoni stressed that "this act is evidence of the Museum’s commitment to scientific integrity, professional ethics and respect for cultural heritage. It also reflects a broader shift in museum practices around the world, which emphasizes due diligence in assessing not only the legality but also the ethical basis for the creation of their collections. This dynamic approach, which we are pleased to see taking hold in leading cultural institutions, recognizes the importance of sincere and constructive partnerships between museums and heritage organizations. Greece is among the countries whose cultural treasures have been stolen and illegally trafficked. I firmly believe that all antiquities illegally taken from any country should be returned to their place of origin and their rightful owners as an essential part of their collective identity."

In his greeting, MET Director Max Hollein described the repatriation as “a very special moment for the collaboration between the MET and the Ministry of Culture” and stressed, “This is a very important repatriation of one of the most emblematic exhibits in the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities. It is the bronze griffin head, which we examined and concluded that it did not legally leave its country of origin, Greece. The collaboration between the MET and the Greek Ministry of Culture is based on the common belief in international cooperation in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage.”

The Metropolitan Museum of New York will return a valuable bronze griffin to Greece

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