SIENA, ITALY.- Italian sculptor Mario Ceroli ended his protest, after he chained himself to his sculpture over a dispute of ownership. The sculpture titled "Run, Run...John" made by the artist artist, measuring 6 meters and made of bronze, was on view at a central square of the Tuscan city as part of an open-air exhibition of the artist's work.

The sculpture was returned to Ceroli after a day of legal wrangling with a company from nearby Pistoia, which claims to own 50% of the statue, reported ANSA.

Ceroli began his protest after finding out that organizers of the outdoor exhibition "Forme in movimiento" were to return the work of art to a company in Pistoia alter the exhibition ended.

The company stated that Ceroli had a written agreement with the company signed in 2006 that guaranteed equal rights to ownership of the work.

Following the return of the horse to Ceroli, the company added that it would ''act without delay to safeguard our rights to the work'', reported Italian news agency ANSA.

Mario Ceroli is a leading international sculptor. From the beginning of the Sixties to most recent times, his oeuvre has always been distinguished by his remarkable ability to ‘craft’ the most diverse materials and his boundless creativity. Many of his works are held by private collectors and important museums in Italy and abroad, and he has taken part in some of the most prestigious exhibitions (he won the sculpture prize at the 1966 Venice Biennale with Cassa Sistina). Although this work, like later ones, to some extent prefigures Arte Povera, the major developments in his production came about mainly through his highly original research into profiles, usually executed in wood. A notable example is La Cina (1966), a compact ‘army’ of silhouettes that forms a spectacular installation, and refers to the collective ideology that informs this work.

Ceroli has designed the sets for many theatre, cinema and television productions. These include Riccardo III directed by Luca Ronconi; Orgia by Pier Paolo Pasolini; Norma directed byMauro Bolognini; Omaggio a Martin Luther King with music by Goffredo Petrassi; Aida, conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli. He has also created many monuments, most recently for Piazza Strozzi and the Fortezza da Basso, in Florence.