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Naples Court Seeks To Have Minneapolis Institute Of Art Statue Returned To Italy

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minneapolis Institute of Art is responding after reports that a court in Naples Italy has called for the museum to return a work of art from their permanent collection back to Italy.

The report says a statue known as Doryphoros (after Polykleitos), which is estimated to have been created somewhere between 27 BCE and 68 AD, is being sought. The claim is that it was stolen in the mid-1970s by art trafficker Elie Boroswki, and sold to MIA in 1984.

The statue is made from pentelic marble and is thought to be a Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue from about 450 BC.

It stands 78 inches high.

"Mia has seen press reports that a court in Naples, Italy, has called for the return of a work of art in the museum's permanent collection," the museum reports. "We have not been contacted by the Italian authorities in connection with the court's decision. If the museum is contacted, we will review the matter and respond accordingly."

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