ISTANBUL, April 15 (Xinhua) — A 5th-century marble sculpture head from the ancient city of Smyrna has been repatriated to Türkiye from the United States, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said on Wednesday.
The artifact, dating back to the Theodosius period, was returned from the Denver Art Museum’s collection following scientific verification that it originated from the Smyrna Agora excavations in modern-day Izmir, a major province on Türkiye’s western Aegean coast, said Ersoy on X.
Smyrna, one of the oldest settlements in the Mediterranean basin, was a prominent Greek and later Roman city. Ersoy said that archival records from 1934 proved the piece had been unearthed during official excavations but was subsequently trafficked abroad through illegal channels.
The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry confirmed that the repatriation was the result of constructive dialogue and international cooperation between Turkish authorities and the Denver Art Museum. The artifact has been delivered back to its place of origin and is currently on display at the Izmir Archaeology Museum.
The ministry further noted that the pace of returns has accelerated significantly in recent years due to intensified legal and diplomatic efforts.
The Turkish government has been leading a campaign to recover cultural artifacts smuggled out of the country. According to the latest ministry data released in early 2026, a total of around 26,767 artifacts have been repatriated to Türkiye to date, with at least 13,449 of those items recovered since 2002.
–NNN-Xinhua