Getty, Greece agree on return of more artifacts

The J. Paul Getty Museum andGreek officials say they have forged an deal to returnan ancientwreath and a marble bustto Athens, months after agreeing to the repatriation of two other artifacts.

Michael Brand, the director of the Los Angeles museum, and Greek Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis said in a joint statement issued Monday that the two sides had "reached an agreement in principle" to return the latest artifacts. A formal agreement is expected to be signed soon.

Decorated with gold flowers and leaves, the wreath dates from the fourth century BC and was designed as a burial gift. Greek officials believe it was illegally removed from Macedonia.

The marble bust depicts a young woman and is believed to date from between the sixth and seventh centuries BC.

Voulgarakis said the return of the two objects would not stop a current criminal investigation into the removal of the wreath.

In July, the Getty and Greek officials reached an agreement for the return of a fourth-century BC tombstone from near Thebes and a sixth-century BC votive relief from the island of Thassos.

In recent years, both Greece and Italy have become increasingly aggressive in pursuing ancient artifacts looted from their shores and now displayed in museums and galleries around the world.

In 2006, Italy made deals with several cultural institutions, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, for the return of looted artifacts. Typically, in exchange, Italian officials have agreed to loan other treasures to the museums and galleries in question.

The Getty has been a specific target, with the museum's former curator Marion True and an art dealer named Robert Hecht on trial in Rome for allegedly receiving rare artifacts that had been stolen or illegally looted.

The case against True involves about 35 European artifacts acquired by the Getty museum between 1986 and the late 1990s — including bronze Etruscan pieces, frescoes and painted Greek vessels.