Metropolitan Museum Launches Donor Program to Add Contemporary Noses to Ancient Sculptures

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has introduced a new initiative called the Smellowship program, allowing patrons to sponsor nose additions for ancient Greek and Roman sculptures in its collection. Announced yesterday, the program enables donors to have rhinoplasties performed on the museum's famously noseless marble statues, with noses modeled after the patrons' own features. The initiative begins at $800 per sponsorship and has already secured donors for sculptures depicting Aphrodite, Dionysus, and Athena. These artworks date from the 9th century BCE to the 5th century CE. The museum has partnered with Nasonex Studios, a cosmetic procedure company known for its 'Instagram face' treatments, though not affiliated with the nasal spray of the same name. Shortly after the announcement, Nasonex Studios founder and lead surgeon Brad Smellini conducted an unauthorized Instagram live session, offering unsanctioned advice to potential donors and expressing a desire to install what he termed 'bunny-slope noses' and 'chiseled Chads' on the sculptures. This prompted mixed reactions on social media, with some users noting that the original statues likely featured aquiline or bridged noses, while others supported the sculptures' right to aesthetic enhancement despite concerns about reinforcing conventional beauty standards. A museum spokesperson explained that the project intends to critique contemporary beauty trends by connecting them to their Classical origins and the historical practices of Greco-Roman sculptors. An anonymous marble sculpture expressed worry about the impact on younger statues in the museum, acknowledging that cosmetic alterations are not unprecedented but are now receiving public attention. In an email statement, Smellini expressed enthusiasm for providing the sculptures with what he considers deserved rhinoplasties, highlighting his expertise in nasal aesthetics.