A black-figure Attic lekythos (oil flask) has been repatriated to Greece from the United States in a formal ceremony held at the Greek Embassy in Washington, D.C. The artifact, which dates back to the 6th century B.C., was handed over by the Glencairn Museum’s Associate Curator, Wendy Closterman, to the Hellenic Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni.
The lekythos, standing at 12 cm tall, features a battle scene of the goddess Athena, accompanied by two hoplites, fighting a Giant. Originally discovered in 1910 during excavations at the Kerameikos cemetery in Athens, the lekythos was later smuggled out of the country under unclear circumstances between 1936 and 1976.
According to research conducted by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and the Glencairn Museum, the lekythos was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in December 1973 as part of the Hagop Kevorkian Fund’s collection. The lekythos’s anonymous buyer then proceeded to donate it to the Glencairn Museum.
Mendoni expressed her deep gratitude to the Glencairn Museum’s administration and staff for their decision to return the lekythos, highlighting its significant symbolic importance. She also noted that the repatriation was not the result of an official Greek government request but was instead initiated by the museum and its director Dr. Brian Henderson, as part of the re-examination of the provenance of objects in the museum’s collection.
In the statement released by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Mendoni praised the leadership of the Glencairn Museum for demonstrating “scientific integrity and professional ethics, as well as deep sensitivity and respect for Greek cultural heritage.”
She emphasized that, under the guidance of Dr. Henderson, the museum acted without hesitation in doing “something that is institutionally and ethically absolutely right.” Mendoni further noted that the museum’s decision to return the artifact reaffirmed that “true excellence in museum management is not measured by the size or grandeur of collections, but by their commitment to due diligence and ethical responsibility in their curation.”
Cover Photo Credit: Hellenic Ministry of Culture
