The Met Showcases 161 Ancient Greek Cycladic Artworks

Cycladic Art at The MET. Photo source: Greek Culture Ministry

The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art) inaugurated this week a new exhibition featuring 161 ancient Greek artefacts from the Leonard N Stern Collection on loan from Greece.

The antiquities belonging to American billionaire Leonard N Stern, will remain on display at The Met over the next 25 years under an agreement with the Greek Culture Ministry. The  agreement was ratified in parliament in 2022. After the complete collection is showcased at The Met, select works will periodically return to Greece, while other loans of Cycladic art will come to The Met.

Greek artefacts on display in The MET’s collection of Greek and Roman art. Photo source: Greek Culture Ministry

The works, which include Cycladic marble figurines, date back to the Early Bronze Age (3200 to 2000 BCE). Fifteen of the items were displayed for the first time in the “Homecoming. Cycladic Treasures on Their Return Journey” show at the Athens Museum of Cycladic Art in November 2022 through to October last year.

Attending the inauguration in The Met’s Great Hall was Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a greeting via video.

Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.

“The repatriation of antiquities that belong to Greece but are currently abroad is a matter of national importance and a high political priority for the culture ministry. International cooperation and synergies through bilateral and multilateral agreements in this direction are always supported and sought. However, each case of repatriation is unique,” said Mendoni, reiterating Greece’s claim for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

Earlier this month, the minister confirmed that Greece would be heightening its drive to retrieve cultural assets that have been illegally removed from the country, key among which the Parthenon Sculptures currently on display at the British Museum in London.

“We are thrilled to present this truly striking display of exceptional Cycladic art to our visitors in New York. Thanks to the important partnership and agreement between the Greek government, The Met, and the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, this historic presentation is sure to foster the study and appreciation of Early Cycladic art and culture for visitors and scholars, now and for generations to come,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO.

The Cycladic figurines on display at The MET. Photo source: Greek Culture Ministry

Also commenting, Kassandra Marinopoulou, president and CEO of the Museum of Cycladic Art said: “After last year’s first worldwide presentation of 15 unique antiquities from the Stern Collection here at the Museum of Cycladic Art, I am very happy for the realization of the transition into the second phase of the agreement.

All 161 exhibits of the collection are now presented to The Met’s global audience. The dissemination and promotion of Cycladic and ancient Greek culture internationally has always been the mission of the Museum of Cycladic Art and it is now being fulfilled to the utmost.”