Louvre raises €500,000 to restore Nike of Samothrace

A campaign to raise funds for the restoration of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, known as the Nike of Samothrace, has so far garnered 500,000 euros, the Louvre Museum in Paris has announced.

The total amount required for the restoration of the statue stands
at €4,000,000 [Credit: To Vima]

An international restoration commission comprised of French and international experts is in charged of the project which is expected to be completed by June next year. The celebrated 2nd century BC marble sculpture has been on display at the French museum since 1884.

The funding campaign, titled “Tous mecenes!,” started on September 3 and is scheduled to run to December 31 with the aim of raising one million euros from private donation. The total cost of the restoration project is estimated at 4 million euros. So far, private donations amount to some 4,000 people donating between 5 and 5,000 euros each.

The rest of the funding has been pledged by the following companies: Nippon Television Holdings, Fimalac and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

For those interested in contributing to the restoration project, visit www.tousmecenes.fr.

Source: Ekathimerini [November 06, 2013]