10 Greek Vases Return to Agrigento 200 Years After Sale to Bavarian Prince
The Museo Archeologico Griffo in Agrigento launched an exhibition in December 2024 titled 'From Girgenti to Monaco. From Monaco to Agrigento. The Return of the Panitteri Vases,' curated by Maria Concetta Parello. This showcase commemorates the return of ten Attic vases from Germany’s Staatliche Antikensammlungen, two centuries after their acquisition by Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1824. Originally uncovered on the estate of Don Giuseppe Panitteri, these artifacts were sold for 1,400 onze with contributions from architect Leo von Klenze and artist Raffaello Politi. The event also highlights Agrigento’s status as Italy's Capital of Culture.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Da Girgenti a Monaco. Da Monaco ad Agrigento. Il ritorno dei vasi del ciantro Panitteri' opened in December 2024 at Museo Archeologico Griffo in Agrigento.
- Curated by Maria Concetta Parello.
- Ten Attic vases from the Staatliche Antikensammlungen in Munich are displayed.
- The vases were originally sold in 1824 to Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria for 1,400 onze.
- The seller was Don Giuseppe Panitteri, a priest and collector.
- The sale was mediated by architect Leo von Klenze and artist Raffaello Politi.
- The vases left Sicily in early 1825 on an Austrian warship.
- The exhibition is part of Agrigento's year as Italian Capital of Culture.
- Highlights include a kalathos-psyktér with Alcaeus and Sappho, and a psyktér with Apollo and Idas.
- The vases survived WWII bombings by being stored in Bavarian convents.
Entities
Artists
- Maria Concetta Parello
- Don Giuseppe Panitteri
- Leo von Klenze
- Raffaello Politi
- Ernesto De Miro
- Franco Minissi
- Gustav Friedrich Konstantin Parthey
- Alcaeus
- Sappho
- Pittore di Pan
- Helga Marsala
Institutions
- Museo Archeologico Griffo
- Staatliche Antikensammlungen
- Parco Archeologico della Valle dei Templi
- Assessorato regionale dei beni culturali
- Soprintendenza regionale di Agrigento
- Villa Genuardi
- Louvre
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- British Museum
- Harvard University
- Museo Salinas
- Alte Pinakothek
- Artribune
- Amazon
Locations
- Agrigento
- Italy
- Monaco
- Munich
- Germany
- Sicily
- Girgenti
- Akragas
- Bavaria
- Paris
- France
- New York
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom
- Cambridge
- Lisbon
- Portugal
- Berlin
- Karlsruhe
- Palermo
- Athens
- Greece
- Lesbos
- Ilissos