15.04.2026 13:08
The marble head of a statue from the ancient city of Smyrna in Izmir has been repatriated to Turkey from the Denver Art Museum in the USA. Scientific examinations determined that the artifact was illegally taken abroad. The artifact, dating back to the 5th century AD, was returned through international cooperation and has been put on display at the Izmir Archaeology Museum.
Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced that a marble sculpture head originating from the Ancient City of Smyrna in İzmir has been repatriated to Turkey from the USA.
In a statement made via his social media account, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that they secured the return of the marble sculpture head, which was in the collection of the Denver Art Museum in Denver, USA, and whose origin from the Ancient City of Smyrna was confirmed by scientific data. Minister Ersoy said, "The artifact, determined through 1934 reports and expert examinations to have come from the Smyrna Agora excavations and to belong to the Theodosian Period, had been taken abroad through illegal means. Thanks to the cooperation and constructive dialogue established with the Denver Art Museum, we have brought our artifact back home. The artifact, dated to the 5th century AD, is now on display at the İzmir Archaeology Museum. I thank the teams of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums and everyone who contributed to this process. We will continue to protect our cultural heritage with determination."
"DETERMINED TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN ABROAD THROUGH ILLEGAL MEANS" According to a statement from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; the Denver Art Museum informed the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism that they wished to return the marble sculpture head in their collections, determined to be of Anatolian origin, to Turkey. In the information conveyed by the museum, it was stated that the artifact was obtained from the Smyrna Agora excavations. Furthermore, it was shared that the sculpture head was included in the Denver Art Museum collection in 1989 via donation from the estate of Marie Thérèse Macy, and that Macy was the wife of Clarence Edward Macy, who served as the US Consul General in Istanbul between 1946-1948. Examinations by ministry experts confirmed this data. The artifact's origin from the Smyrna Agora excavations was also documented by a report published in the 1934 Turkish Journal of History, Archaeology and Ethnography. It was definitively established through scientific examinations by ministry experts and archive records that the artifact is of Anatolian origin and was taken abroad through illegal means. Based on these determinations, Turkey formally requested the artifact's return, and the process conducted resulted in international cooperation.
"STRONG EXPRESSIVE ELEMENTS DETECTED IN FACIAL FEATURES" It was also revealed in reports prepared by Prof. Dr. Akın Ersoy from İzmir Katip Çelebi University and experts from the Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilizations that the sculpture head is related to the sculpture art of the Theodosian Period and is a product of a workshop active in the Ephesus-Smyrna region. The marble sculpture head, with a height of 25 centimeters, is dated to the second half of the 5th century AD. Defined as a male portrait, the artifact's neck section is found broken and missing. In the sculpture, the hair and eyebrow curls were worked with a chisel, while the pupils were made prominent with drill marks. In the short-bearded portrait, it was determined that the eyes are directed towards the viewer and that there are strong expressive elements in the facial features. The artifact, brought to Turkey through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has begun to be exhibited at the İzmir Archaeology Museum, taking into account its origin and historical context.