The Glyptoteket will hand over the head of a Roman emperor statue uncovered during excavations and illegally sold to Türkiye on Friday.
The well-preserved bronze head of the statue of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus will be delivered to Türkiye by the Glyptoteket on Friday.
Glyptoteket announced this in a press release.
The investigations revealed that the two-thousand-year-old bronze head was illegally excavated and traded.
The handover ceremony for the head of the Emperor's statue and the 48 architectural terracottas from Düver will be held in Antalya at 11:00, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
It was reported that the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, will also attend the handover ceremony.
Glyptoteket Director Gertrud Hvidberg-Hansen said in the press release, "It was a significant and complex case, but I am very pleased with both the progress of the case and the outcome, which was based on solid professional efforts."
In 1970, Glyptoteket acquired the bronze statue head from the art dealer Robert Hecht, approximately from CE 200.
Robert Hecht was linked to the illegal trafficking of cultural heritage objects from Italy and Türkiye.
It is believed that the bronze statue head came from Boubon in Türkiye and was part of a larger collection of bronze statues belonging to the Roman Imperial family.
Türkiye requested the return of the head of the Septimius Severus statue in 2023.
The Glyptoteket sought confirmation that the head of the emperor statue originated from Türkiye, which prolonged the process.
Minister of Culture Mehmet Nuri Ersoy is pleased with the resolution of the matter.
According to the press release made by Glyptoteket, the Minister said, "This return case reflects the strong cooperation between Türkiye and Denmark in protecting cultural heritage and combating illegal trade."