Marcus Aurelius statue smuggled abroad returned to Turkey
The bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which was smuggled out of Turkey through illegal excavations in the 1960s, has been officially returned to Turkey during a ceremony held at the Cleveland Museum of Art in the USA.
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Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Gökhan Yazgı stated in a post on his social media account that the Marcus Aurelius statue will return to the lands where it belongs.
Yazgı noted the following in his post:
"The unique bronze statue, which depicts Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in his philosopher identity and was illegally taken abroad from the Ancient City of Boubon in the 1960s, has been officially returned to Turkey with a ceremony held at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
After approximately 65 years of scientific, legal, and diplomatic efforts, the statue of Marcus Aurelius is finally returning to the Anatolian lands where it belongs.
Before being brought to Turkey, the work in question will be presented to visitors as part of a special exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art for a period of three months. In July, it will come to life again in our country within its own cultural context. Thus, the long journey of Marcus Aurelius will have come to an end in the lands where it belongs."