The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Hellenic Republic of Greece announce the Return of Ancient Bronze Head of a Griffin

The return follows the launch of The Met’s Cultural Property Initiative, which includes a focused review of works in the collection by the Museum’s Head of Provenance and the hiring of additional dedicated provenance researchers.

One of the finest existing cast-bronze griffins' heads, this object has been prominently displayed at the entrance to The Met’s Greek and Roman galleries since 1999 and has been installed in the galleries since its acquisition in 1972. As stated in the official find report presented by the Greek Ministry of Culture to the Museum, the Griffin was originally found by chance in the bed of the Kladeos River in Olympia in 1914 by the curator of the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, who placed it in the library of the museum, where it remained un-inventoried until its disappearance in the 1930s. According to The Met’s archives, this Bronze Head of a Griffin was donated to the Museum in 1972 as part of the bequest of Walter C. Baker. Baker had purchased it in 1948 from Joseph Brummer in New York, who acquired it in 1936 from an antique dealer in Athens. The Met and the Greek Ministry agreed to the return of the Griffin after careful review of records and letters determining that it could not have legitimately left the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. The Met will return the Griffin to Greece and is looking forward to displaying it on loan by Greece to The Met for a planned special exhibition in 2026.