POMPEII, Italy (AP) — A mosaic panel on travertine slabs, depicting an erotic theme from the Roman period, was returned to the archaeological park of Pompeii on Tuesday, after being stolen by a Nazi German captain throughout World Conflict II.
The paintings was repatriated from Germany via diplomatic channels, organized by the Italian Consulate in Stuttgart, Germany, after having been returned from the heirs of the final proprietor, a deceased German citizen.
The proprietor had acquired the mosaic as a present from a Wehrmacht captain, assigned to the navy provide chain in Italy throughout the struggle.
The mosaic — relationship between mid- to final century B.C. and the primary century — is taken into account a piece of “extraordinary cultural interest,” specialists stated.
“It is the moment when the theme of domestic love becomes an artistic subject,” stated Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and co-author of an essay devoted to the returned work. “Whereas the Hellenistic interval, from the fourth to the primary century B.C., exulted the fervour of mythological and heroic figures, now we see a brand new theme.”
The heirs of the mosaic’s final proprietor in Germany contacted the Carabinieri unit in Rome that is devoted to defending cultural heritage, which was answerable for the investigation, asking for data on methods to return the mosaic to the Italian state. Authorities carried out the mandatory checks to ascertain its authenticity and provenance, after which labored to repatriate the mosaic in September 2023.
The collaboration with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii was additionally key, because it made it potential to hint it to close the Mount Vesuvius volcano, regardless of the shortage of information on the unique context of its discovery, the Carabinieri stated.
The panel was then assigned to the Archaeological Park of Pompeii the place, suitably catalogued, it is going to be protected and obtainable for academic and analysis functions.
“Today’s return is like healing an open wound,” Zuchtriegel stated, including that the mosaic permits to reconstruct the story of that interval, the primary century A.D., earlier than Pompeii was destroyed by the Vesuvius eruption in A.D. 79.
The park’s director additionally highlighted how the return by the heirs of its proprietor indicators an essential change in “mentality,” as “the sense of possession (of stolen art) becomes a heavy burden.”
“We see that often in the many letters we receive from people who may have stolen just a stone, to bring home a piece of Pompeii,” Zuchtriegel stated.
He recalled the so-called “Pompeii curse,” which in line with a preferred superstition hits whoever steals artifacts in Pompeii.
The world-known legend means that those that steal finds from the traditional metropolis of Pompeii will expertise dangerous luck or misfortune. That has been fueled through the years by a number of vacationers who return stolen objects, claiming they introduced them dangerous luck and brought on tragic occasions.
