Draped Male Figure at the Cleveland Museum of Art to Be Transferred to the Republic of Türkiye

CLEVELAND (April 7, 2025)—The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) today announced that the monumental ancient Greco-Roman bronze statue of a standing draped male figure, acquired by the museum in 1986, will be displayed in the CMA’s Monte and Usha Ahuja Founders Rotunda beginning April 8. The exhibition includes extensive information detailing new evidence discovered by scientific testing conducted in cooperation with the Republic of Türkiye and the District Attorney of New York. Four text panels with information not previously available will be included in the rotunda when the statue is exhibited. This iconic work of art will be featured in the CMA through July 8.

“We are profoundly grateful to the Republic of Türkiye and the District Attorney of New York for their cooperation in conducting new testing, as well as for their willingness to share the statue with our visitors before it returns to Türkiye,” said William M. Griswold, director and president of the Cleveland Museum of Art. “While we are sorry to see this remarkable work leave the CMA, we are, at the same time, thankful for the relationships and myriad possibilities that have emerged from our dialogue with colleagues in Türkiye and New York.”

The museum had previously announced its decision to transfer the statue to Türkiye, following the results of a series of new scientific tests. The collective results of those tests led the museum to conclude that the statue was likely present at a site commonly known as the Sebasteion in the ancient city of Bubon, Türkiye. 

A leader among encyclopedic museums in the 21st century, the CMA emphasizes transparency, provenance research, and cooperation with source countries, setting strong ethical standards and forging long-term agreements that prioritize exchange, access, and understanding. 

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About the Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 66,500 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovation. One of the leading encyclopedic art museums in the United States, the CMA is recognized for its award-winning open access program—which provides free digital access to images and information about works in the museum’s collection—and free of charge to all. The museum is located in the University Circle neighborhood with two satellite locations on Cleveland’s west side: the Community Arts Center and Transformer Station.

The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.