Page 75 - ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL 2023

ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL
culture

Homecoming

Cycladic Treasures On Their Return Journey

15 Cycladic antiquities of unique archaeological value

are presented for the first time internationally, in Athens,

at the Museum of Cycladic Art till October 31st, 2023.

T he exhibition “Homecoming. Cycladic treas-
ures on their return journey” is presented by the
Museum of Cycladic Art in collaboration with
the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports
and is the first step of the historic agreement
between the Ministry of Culture and Sports,
the Museum of Cycladic Art and The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York (The Met), which was rat-
ified by the Greek Parliament on September 9, 2022.
The agreement foresees the gradual return to Greece
of 161 Early Cycladic antiquities of unique archaeo-
logical value of the American collector Leonard Stern.
15 of these antiquities are presented for the first time
internationally, in Athens, at the Museum of Cycladic
Art. Following this, the entire collection will be exhib-
ited at The Met, before the final return of the entirety
of these antiquities to Greece, their country of origin.
The exhibition “Homecoming. Cycladic treasures on
their return journey” will last until October 31, 2023.
The exhibition presents rare exhibits which will bring
new scientific knowledge to Early Cycladic art. Among
them, there are types that could be described as unique,
either as a whole or in their individual morphological
characteristics, as they have not appeared before in the
corpus of the known works of Early Cycladic culture.
The antiquities presented – ten marble figurines and five
vases made of marble, steatite and clay – cover a wide
chronological range, from the times of the Late Neolithic
period to those of the Early Cycladic II period (c. 5300 –
2400/2300 BC). The figurines depict solely the female
figure and belong to types and varieties corresponding PARIS TAVITIAN © MUSEUM OF CYCLADIC ART
to the styles of each period (schematic, precanonical,
canonical), while the vases represent some of the most
characteristic types of vessels covering the entire Early
Cycladic period. >

074