Following the elections in mid September, Greece has a new Culture Minister – Michael Liapis. One of his first public appearances since taking over the job has been to announce the arrival back in Greece of two sculptures, voluntarily returned by their owners in the US. The number of similar cases has been growing in recent years. Each time that something such as this happens represents a further shift in accepted practise from retention to restitution.
From:
The Guardian [1]
Greek Antiquities Returned From U.S.
Wednesday September 19, 2007 7:16 PMATHENS, Greece (AP) – An ancient stone coffin and sculpture of a lion’s head have been returned to Greece after being handed over by private owners in the United States, the Culture Ministry said Wednesday.
The artifacts were presented by new Culture Minister Michalis Liapis. Both had been voluntarily turned over to the Greek consulate in Boston and brought back to Greece in July.
The undated marble sarcophagus bears the relief sculpture of a battle scene, while the lion sculpture dates to Roman times.Greece has mounted an aggressive campaign for the return of ancient artifacts from museums and private collections abroad, part of an effort to recover Parthenon sculptures known as the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum in London.