ATHENS – Ten Early Cycladic figurines of the Leonard Stern collection will be shown at the Museum of Cycladic Art from November 3 to October 31, 2023, as part of an agreement by the Greek Ministry of Culture, the Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The agreement foresees the gradual return to Greece of 161 Early Cycladic figurines.

The exhibit at the Cycladic Museum, “Return: Cycladic treasures on a return voyage” will showcase rare pieces that add new data to Early Cycladic art, the museum said, as the show will include figurine styles that are unique. According to the Cycladic Museum, 10 marble figurines and 5 vessels of marble, steatite, or clay that are dated to the Late Neolithic and Early Cycladic II periods (nearly 5300 to 2400/2300 BC) will be on show. All figures depict women.

A bilingual guide of 180 pages will accompany the exhibit, (which is divided into three chronological eras) and will include catalog descriptions of each of the 15 pieces.

Meanwhile, five unions of archaeologists, conservators, and ministry personnel have called for a rally at the corner of Vassilissis Sofias and Irodotou at 19:00 on Wednesday, to protest “the legalization of art smuggling.” In a joint announcement they said, “On November 2, they are inaugurating secretly an exhibition of 15 objects from the total 161 in the Stern Collection at the private Museum of Cycladic Art. These objects have not been legally checked as to whether they are authentic or fake, or (as to) how they made their way from the Cycladic Islands to the collection of a multimillionaire in New York.”