- New York authorities are trying to seize an ancient, headless statue thought to originate from Turkey.
- But the Cleveland Museum of Art says there's no evidence to prove it was ever stolen.
A Cleveland art museum, New York authorities, and Turkey have all been fighting over a headless, ancient statue that some experts believe may depict Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.
The dispute intensified last week when the Cleveland Museum of Art, which has owned the piece since 1986, sued the office of New York attorney general Alvin Bragg.
The bronze statue of a male figure draped in robes dates back to A.D. 180 to 200 and is worth $20 million, the Associated Press reported, citing the district attorney's office.
Bragg's office has been investigating to find works of art that may have been looted from Turkey and smuggled through Manhattan, a spokesperson for Bragg told the AP. That probe led to a Manhattan judge ordering the seizure of the statue in August, claiming it rightfully belonged to Turkey, according to CNN.
Turkey's hand in the matter dates back to 2012, when the country first called out a number of US institutions for housing ancient works of art it believes were stolen in the 20th century.
But in its new lawsuit filed in Ohio federal court, the museum notes it's handed over other artwork in the past, but says Bragg doesn't have enough proof that this statue was ever looted.
The museum has said in the past that Turkey doesn't have concrete proof the statue was stolen. The new lawsuit is asking a judge to declare the museum as the statue's rightful owner.
Whether or not the work even depicts Marcus Aurelius is also up for debate — the museum once wrote on its website that the figure was "probably" Aurelius, but has since removed that identification, according to CNN. Also, without the statue's head, positively identifying the figure is "virtually impossible," the museum argued in its suit.