Etruscan Bronze Lar

Etruscan Bronze Lar

In 2018, the UK repatriated an Etruscan statuette that had been stolen from an Italian museum in the late 1980s. The bronze figure depicts a lar, a protective household deity, wearing a crown or wreath and a robe draped across his lower torso.

It was one of many objects taken during a 1988 theft from the National Archaeological Museum of Siena and had been listed as missing by Interpol and the Carabinieri. The lar resurfaced on the art market in May 2018, when it was offered for sale at a British auction house. The catalogue cited its provenance as “From an important London W1 collection, previously acquired before 1970.”

The Art Loss Register, which routinely checks upcoming auction lots against its database, alerted the Carabinieri and the London police, leading to the piece being withdrawn from sale. The consignor, described as an innocent buyer who purchased the statuette from a now deceased seller, surrendered the piece. It was formally returned to Italy in a ceremony held at the British Ambassador’s residence in Rome on October 11, 2018.

1

Sculpture – statues, carvings, bronzes, reliefs, figurines

Etruscan

Italy

Tai Sherman

Lisa Duffy-Zeballos