The Return of Aphrodite

Here we have the famous marble and limestone statue of Aphrodite bought by the J. Paul Getty museum in 1988 for $18 million despite there was some evidence that the statue had been illegally smuggled out of Italy. After many years research experts are unable to point to its find spot though the statues limestone elements come from a quarry close to the 5th century bc Greek settlement of Morgantina on the island of Sicily.

Now the Getty has returned the statue back to Italy where it is now displayed in the Aidon museum close to the Morgantina archaeological site in Sicily. The serious negotiations for the statue began after the Getty's former curator Marion True was indicted in an antiquities smuggling scandal resulting in the return of many smuggled artifacts from a number of museums.

Photo: Associated press