The Board of Trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust has agreed to return two objects from the antiquities collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum claimed by the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture.
The unanimous decision by the Getty’s Board to deaccession and return a Thasian relief and Boeotian stele, both of which currently are displayed at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, grew out of a tentative agreement reached in mid-May between Georgios Voulgarakis, Minister of Culture of the Hellenic Republic, and Dr. Michael Brand, Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The decision to return the items to the Hellenic Republic was based on an internal scholarly review by the J. Paul Getty Museum that concluded it was appropriate that the objects be returned.
Mr. Voulgarakis and Dr. Brand have conversed and corresponded in order to create a framework based on a co-operation agreement between the two sides. They have indeed assigned representatives for the discussions, which will last until the end of August. Among the subjects to be discussed is the claim of the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture concerning the return of antiquities (marble statue of a Kore and a gold wreath), as well as the long-term loan of Greek antiquities to the J. Paul Getty Museum.