Goddess in Buffalo

Buffalo's Albright Art Gallery announced a major acquisition: a bronze Diana, accompanied by a little stag. The 36-inch-high figure, modeled by a Greek of the 2nd or 3rd century B.C., is extraordinarily well preserved. It has a windblown freshness and grace that no later sculptor could have improved on. Gallery Director Edgar Schenck would not say what his sculpture cost, but made clear that he thought it priceless: "We believe there is no other Greek bronze yet discovered which compares in size and quality to our Diana."

The statue was dug up some 30 years ago, during building excavations in Rome, but the real credit for its discovery goes to an ardent old (60) Manhattan art dealer named Piero Tozzi. Over the years, dozens of connoisseurs had examined the Diana without penetrating the deep crust of filth that clothed her. But Tozzi saw the divinity under the dirt, bought Diana from a Roman art dealer, and spent six months lovingly cleaning her. By the time he had finished the task this spring, museum men across the U.S. and from Britain were anxious to have her. Fortunately for Buffalo, Schenck had bid first.

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