After a 65-year absence, the bronze statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, looted in the 1960s from the ancient city of Boubon in Türkiye's Burdur province, has been returned to its country of origin. The statue, considered one of Anatolia's finest bronze works and depicting the emperor as a philosopher, had been held in the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio.
Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced the repatriation on social media, calling it the result of a long, determined, and evidence-based struggle involving diplomacy, law, and science. The Ministry worked closely with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations to present scientific data, witness accounts, and archival documents proving the statue's origin.
The process included detailed soil analyses and physical matching of the statue's features with remnants in Boubon. In 2024, a silicone mold of the statue's foot matched bases in the ancient city. Soil samples were compared with another Boubon statue, confirming the shared origin.
The Cleveland Museum initially challenged the seizure, but withdrew its lawsuit after conclusive evidence proved the statue's provenance. This repatriation was part of a broader effort that also returned statues of other Roman emperors, such as Lucius Verus and Caracalla.
Minister Ersoy praised the work of Turkish experts and the late archaeologist Prof. Dr. Jale İnan, who first drew academic attention to the statue. The Marcus Aurelius statue will be displayed in a special exhibition in Ankara, as Türkiye continues its campaign to recover cultural heritage smuggled abroad.
