Billionaire’s collection of Cycladic treasures, on loan from Greece, goes on display at the Metropolitan Museum

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled a vast exhibition of Cycladic antiquities from the collection of American philanthropist Leonard N. Stern, following the announcement of a five-decade partnership with the Greek state, envisioned as an innovative solution upon repatriation.

The agreement stipulates that the objects belong to Greece, which has authorized the long-term loan, and that the selected works will periodically travel to Greece and be exchanged with other objects, thus allowing the collection to be simultaneously repatriated and exhibited outside Greece.

Conservative Seán Hemingway helped negotiate the agreement in 2022, in collaboration with the Greek government, the Athens Museum of Cycladic Art and the Ancient Hellenic Cultural Institute, a Delaware-based nonprofit organization safeguarding the collection in the United States. Partnership represents ‘an exciting new model of repatriation,’ says HemingwayThe arts journaladding that the project “will promote more work on Cycladic antiquities, which is positive, and will attract the interest of international visitors.”

The exhibition features 161 sculptures and vessels made of marble, terracotta and other materials, most dating from the Early Bronze Age (3200-2000 BCE). Stern’s collection is distinguished by the representation of all known Cycladic figurative styles. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a monumental violin-shaped sculpture of a female form, one of the few statues of such scale to have survived, and there are also several rare examples of shamanic and supernatural figures.

As part of this arrangement, Stern also funded several collection-related initiatives, including the development of an online archive and non-invasive research into previously unknown polychromy, using an advanced process that evokes ghost traces of paint . The Met will also host a series of programs related to the collection, hold residencies for Greek scholars, and host a symposium on Cycladic art over the next three years.

Stern says he first discovered Cycladic art during visits to the Met as a child, acquiring a plaster replica in Greece in 1974 from a souvenir store. The New York-based businessman began working with specialists in the 1980s to build his collection over the next four decades, which includes examples spanning from the late Neolithic to the end of the Age of ancient bronze.

The deal to display the objects initially sparked some controversy from critics who raised questions about the collection’s provenance. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Culture Minister Lina Mendoni spoke of the urgency of repatriation in remarks at the opening of the Met exhibition on Wednesday (January 24), emphasizing that it There is no evidence that the items were illegally searched or acquired.

“We are a collection-based institution and collection practices have changed dramatically, especially in recent years, and our practices have tightened,” Hemingway says. “Now that we have opened the installation, I hope people will really come and see the works and recognize the value of creating a beacon for Cycladic art outside of Greece and here at the Met.”

He adds: “It’s wonderful to be able to bring the collection into the public sphere. This is a positive resolution because I don’t believe there will be collections like Stern’s in the future.

• Cycladic art: the Leonard N. Stern collection on loan from the Hellenic RepublicMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York, January 25, 2024-ongoing