A mosaic panel on travertine slabs, depicting an erotic theme from the Roman era, was returned to the archaeological park of Pompeii on Tuesday, after being stolen by a Nazi German captain during World War II.The mosaic depicts a pair of lovers in a state of undress.A male figure is lounging on a bed or couch, while a female figure is standing, facing away from the viewer. The artwork was repatriated from Germany through diplomatic channels, arranged by the Italian Consulate in Stuttgart, Germany, after having been returned from the heirs of the last owner, a deceased German citizen. The owner had received the mosaic as a gift from a Wehrmacht captain, assigned to the military supply chain in Italy during the war.The mosaic — dating between mid- to last century B.C.
and the first century — is considered a work of "extraordinary cultural interest," experts said.It may have decorated the floor of a bedroom, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii said in a news release. "It is the moment when the theme of domestic love becomes an artistic subject," said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and co-author of an essay dedicated to the returned work.
"While the Hellenistic period, from the fourth to the first century B.C., exulted the passion of mythological and heroic figures, now we see a new theme." The heirs of the mosaic's last owner in Germany contacted the Carabinieri unit in Rome that's dedicated to protecting cultural heritage, which was in charge of the investigation, asking for information on how to return the mosaic to the Italian state.Authorities carried out the necessary checks to establish its authenticity and provenance, and then worked to repatriate the mosaic in September 2023.The collaboration with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii was also key, as it made it possible to trace it to near the Mount Vesuvius volcano, despite the scarcity of data on the original context of its discovery, the Carabinieri sai...