Italian City Pleads for Restitution of Ancient Doryphoros Statue

By Laine Capshaw

Unknown artist, Doryphoros, a Roman copy of the lost Greek original by Polykleitos, 27 BCE-AD 68. Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

A decision has been made by magistrates of the court of Torre Annunziata to demand restitution of a copy of the original Greek Doryphoros statue after Polykleitus from the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA). Completed between 27 BCE and AD 68, the work stands at a commanding 196 centimetres and was made with the same Pentelic marble used in the construction of the Parthenon. While legal action began in Italy just over a week ago, investigations into where the statue came from started in January of last year. The story of this invaluable statue’s provenance is rife with inconsistencies from defendant Minneapolis, making the case for restitution complicated.   

Information from the MIA states that the statue was found off the shore of Italy–international waters, conveniently doing away with illegal footprints–in the 1930s. Then, the Institute claims that the statue was passed between a variety of international collectors around central Europe until it was found again in town Castellammare di Stabia in 1976 by ‘workers’ digging building foundations. The MIA website concludes that the statue was donated by several ‘generous friends of the Institute’. Where the statue was between the thirties and seventies, as well as between 1976 and its official purchase by the Institute in 1985, has been ignored by the defendant’s explanation of its storied provenance. 

Archaeological experts from the Pompeii Archaeological Park confirm that Doryphoros di Stabia was likely looted from Castellammare near Naples in the mid-seventies. The exact location of where it was looted in the town is unknown, though it is thought to come from one of two notoriously looted spots. The truth as reported by the Torre Annunziata, which covers legislation of Pompeii and its ruins, is that the statue was sold in parts to the late art dealer and trafficking middle-man Elie Borowski. In the mid-eighties the statue was found in a Munich museum and, after failed action from Italian authorities to return the work from Germany, disappeared from history once again. This likely had something to do with Borowski. One of the most influential and powerful dealers of his time, he sold Doryphoros to the MIA for 2.5 million dollars in 1985, more than twice the amount he paid for it from looters less than ten years prior.   

The issue is now one of diplomatic cultural concern between the United States and Italian governments. Mayor of Castellammare di Stabia called upon the Italian Ministry of Culture to press the United States Government for its restitution. Prosecutors emphasise the cultural value of the Doryphoros and its rightful place in Stabia, denouncing the museum’s supposed theft. Director of the Archaeological Museum of Stabia Libero D’Orsi hopes to include the Doryphoros in its permanent exhibition soon. For now, the marble spear-bearer remains in Minneapolis.

Bibliography 

Cascone, Sarah, “An Italian Court Demands the Restitution of an Ancient Roman Lance Bearer From the Minneapolis Institute of Art”. Art Net, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/minneapolis-institute-of-art-doryphoros-restitution-2076982.   

“Doryphoros of Stabiae, the Torre Annunziata prosecutor asks for restitution to the Minneapolis museum”. Time News, https://time.news/doryphoros-of-stabiae-the-torre-annunziata-prosecutor-asks-for-restitution-to-the-minneapolis-museum/.   

 “Italy Asks For The Return Of The Doryphoros Of Stabiae From The Museum Of Minneapolis”. Archaeology News Network, https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2022/02/italy-asks-for-return-of-doryphoros-of.html.