Bronze statue caught in fishermen’s net to go on display
MUĞLA
A 2,200-year-old bronze statue of a woman, accidentally caught in the net of fishermen off the coast of Marmaris five years ago, will go on public display for the first time.
The hollow-cast statue, missing its head and arms, was retrieved on Nov. 17, 2020, by the crew of a trawler named Azimler in the Hisarönü Gulf. After the discovery was reported to the Southern Aegean Coast Guard Command, the artifact was promptly delivered to the Marmaris Museum on the same day.
Following desalination and initial conservation work, the statue was transferred to the İzmir Regional Laboratory for Restoration and Conservation, where a full restoration process was carried out. It has now been returned to the Marmaris Museum for exhibition.
The bronze figure, dated to the second century B.C. and displaying Hellenistic stylistic features, has been identified as a Roman-period artifact. It depicts a woman wearing a khiton beneath a himation, garments typical of the Hellenistic and Roman eras.
The statue will be showcased for the first time on July 4 as part of the exhibition titled "The Woman from the Sea," held under the "102 Exhibitions in 102 Years: A Journey into Anatolia’s Cultural Heritage in the Light of the Republic" initiative, organized by the Culture and Tourism Ministry to mark the 102nd anniversary of the Republic.
The exhibition will also include various artifacts uncovered in regional excavations. All works will be displayed in the Marmaris Museum’s new exhibition hall, which was curated by the museum’s directorate and outfitted with support from the Marmaris Chamber of Commerce.
