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European court upholds Italy's right to seize prized Greek bronze from Getty Museum, rejects appeal

By Nicole Winfield - May 02, 2024, 05:30 PM ET
Last Updated - May 27, 2024, 01:04 AM EDT
Italy Getty Antiquities
FILE - Reporter Sookee Chung takes a photo of a sculpture titled "Statue of a Victorious Youth, 300-100 B.C." at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, on July 27, 2015. A European court upheld Italy’s right to seize a prized Greek statue from the J. Paul Getty Museum in California, rejecting the museum’s appeal on Thursday and ruling Italy was right to try to reclaim an important part of its cultural heritage. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

A European court has upheld Italy’s right to seize a prized Greek statue from the J

ROME (AP) — A European court on Thursday upheld Italy’s right to seize a prized Greek statue from the J. Paul Getty Museum in California, ruling that Italy was justified in trying to reclaim an important part of its cultural heritage and rejecting the museum's appeal.

The European Court of Human Rights, or ECHR, determined that Italy’s decades-long efforts to recover the “Victorious Youth” statue from the Malibu-based Getty were not disproportionate.

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“Victorious Youth,” a life-sized bronze dating from 300 B.C. to 100 B.C., is one of the highlights of the Getty collection. Though the artist is unknown, some scholars believe it was made by Lysippos, Alexander the Great’s personal sculptor.

The bronze, which was pulled from the sea in 1964 by Italian fishermen and then exported out of Italy illegally, was purchased by the Getty in 1977 for $4 million and has been on display there ever since.

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