Following a dispute with a U.S. museum over an ancient marble statue believed to have been plundered from Italy nearly half a century ago, Italy’s Culture Ministry has banned the work from being loaned to the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
The dispute arose in March 2022 when an Italian court ruled that the Minneapolis Museum was irregularly in possession of the Stabiae Doliforo, a Roman-era copy of the ancient Greek sculpture Polykleitos’ Doliforus. It started when.
Vandals set fire to Naples, destroying artwork by Italy’s most famous living artist
Rome claims the sculpture was looted from the ruins of the ancient city of Stabiae, near Pompeii, in the 1970s. Stabiae was also covered in lava and ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
A spokesperson for Italy’s Ministry of Culture confirmed the ban on Wednesday.
Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano arrives for the oath of office at the Quirinal Presidential Palace in Rome on Saturday, October 22, 2022. Following a long-running dispute with an American museum over Stabiae, Italy’s Ministry of Culture has banned the art from being loaned to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The Doliforo is a Roman marble replica of the ancient Greek Doryforus of Polykleitos, and is thought to have been plundered from Italy almost half a century ago. The U.S. Museum of Art, which bought Dollyforos in 1986 for $2.5 million, said it bought the sculpture from art dealer Elie Borowski only after Italy’s claims were rejected by the German government and the art was imported into the United States. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
In February 2022, Italian prosecutors issued an international warrant demanding the seizure and return of the artwork. “We are still waiting for an answer,” Nunzio Fragliasso, chief prosecutor at the Torre Annunziata court, said at a press conference earlier this year.
In 1984, while the work was on display in a German museum, Italy filed a lawsuit to claim it. This claim was denied in 1986. The U.S. Museum, which purchased the statue in 1986 for $2.5 million, said it was purchased from art dealer Ellie Borowski and imported into the United States.
“Since then, the work has been publicly exhibited and widely published,” the Minneapolis Museum said in a statement. “While recent reporting on Doryphoros is problematic, Mia (Museum) believes that the media is not the appropriate forum to address unproven allegations.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The museum maintained that it had always acted “responsibly and proactively” regarding claims related to its collection. However, it added that “if no evidence was provided, and if Mia had evidence reasonably showing that the claim was not supported, Mia refused to transfer the works.”
The museum criticized Italy’s new loan ban, saying it was “contrary to decades of exchange between museums.”
