Art without Context: The “Morgantina Goddess”, a Classical Cult Statue from Sicily between Old and New Mythology.

Abstract

The Morgantina Goddess, a late 5th century BC statue that was stolen/returned to Sicily, is a worldwide symbol of looted art. It is thought to have been excavated illegally in 1977 from the ruins of Morgantina in Sicily. It was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1987 and returned to Italy in May 2011. The fame for her recent history has replaced her old mythology and many archeological questionsare still unanswered, such as: no other close comparable cult statue, dating back to 450 BC, is present in Sicily; neither pedestal nor temple, which could have hosted the statue in antiquity, have yet been discoveredin over 60 years of excavations in Morgantina; its identity as a young goddess or a mature one (Aphrodite-Koreor Demeter-Hera) should be evaluated under the optical corrections offered by the final position and height onits (missing) base inside the (missing) temple. As a matter of fact, although everything possible has been said about the statue’s whereabouts, the issue is problematic: what and why has the current archaeological research accepted as sound information from the looters? Should we admit a risk of a “fabrication of history”? These questions and many others might risk that unsupported ‘factoids’ swiftly add on to the “new mythology” related to herrecent manipulated history. For these reasons, the Morgantina Goddess represents an important case study on strategies to be adopted on antiquities deprived of their context by the criminal network.