An ancient Greek artifact has been returned to its homeland following a repatriation ceremony at the Greek embassy in Washington, local media reported on Sunday.

The 12-cm-tall Attic black-figure lekythos - a vessel used for oil storage - depicts a battle between a Giant and Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare in Greek mythology, as well as the patron of Athens.

Dating from between 630 and 500 B.C., according to Greece's Culture Ministry, the artifact carries significant historic and cultural value.

Greek archaeologists confirmed that it was excavated in 1910 from a tomb at the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos in Athens, near the Acropolis. The vessel was removed from a Greek museum under unclear circumstances between 1936 and 1973, as noted in the Greek ministry's archives. It later came into the possession of the Glencairn Museum in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, having been donated by an individual who purchased it at a Sotheby's auction in New York in 1973.

During the ceremony, Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni expressed gratitude on behalf of the government and people to the Glencairn Museum for facilitating the artifact's return. The repatriation was initiated by the museum's Board of Directors as part of a review of the origins of its collections.