New York's Met Museum returns stolen Greek artefact

Greece said it has recovered from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art a 2,600-year-old bronze artefact stolen from ancient Olympia in the 1930s.

The Greek culture ministry in a statement said the bronze griffin's head, dated to 650-625 BC was an "exquisite sample of ancient Greek metalwork".

It had previously been "prominently" displayed at the Met's ancient Greek and Roman art collection, the ministry said.

The 25.8cm head was originally a decorative part of a tripod cauldron, which in antiquity were popular religious offerings to gods.