Italy's Culture Ministry officially has suspended art loans to the Minneapolis Institute of Art following disputes over the 1st century Roman sculpture "Doryphoros." Italian authorities believe the statue, which originated in the south of Naples, was illegally excavated in the 1970s. Mia said it purchased it for $2.5 million in 1986 from art dealer Elie Borowski.

Italy first requested return of the statue in March 2022, after an Italian court ruled that Mia needed to give back the ancient sculpture that had long been displayed in the museum. The "Doryphoros" is one of a number of Roman copies based on original works by the Greek sculptor Polykleitos, and the one that Mia owns, made in the 1st century B.C., is one of the best preserved.