An oenochoe, (ancient Greek wine jug) from 7th century BC that was taken during the German occupation in World War II has been returned to Greece from Canada.
According to AMNA, the ancient jug dates back to 620-600 BC and has a refoil-shaped mouth and a cover. Traces of the decoration around its neck are still visible.
The oenochoe had been given to the August Kestner Museum in Hanover, Ontario, by geology professor Hannfrit Putzer in 1986.
It was accompanied by a letter which said it had been handed over to him after being discovered by Germans in 1943 during excavations at the southernmost end of the Corinth Canal.
The vessel was also accompanied by a description of the trench and its position in it.
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni praised the museum for returning the artefact back to where it came from.
“The August Kestner Museum joins the group of international museums that have in recent years made great efforts to investigate provenance issues of artefacts in their collections” she said.
“These (are) museums whose officials have the courage to publicize the results of their research and return to Greece the objects they have determined are linked to illegal acts.
“The Municipality of Hanover, in its commitment to return cultural artefacts that were stolen during the Nazi occupation to their legal owners, is returning this object of antiquity to Greece.”
She continued that this is proof of their wish to contribute to the restoration of the damage Greece’s cultural heritage has suffered while also defending their own reputation.
“The Greek state, in the first years after the end of the war, expended systematic effort to locate and repatriate the antiquities that were looted by occupying forces.”
She thanked the museum and all involved in the repatriation of the oenochoe.
The entire process to return the item to Greece took two years, with a ceremony in Hanover on Monday that included ministry and museum officials and members of the local Greek community.
