All posts tagged: Antiquities

New York Authorities Return 59 Antiquities to Italy, Iraq, Indonesia

New York Authorities Return 59 Antiquities to Italy, Iraq, Indonesia

Published by Jenni Sidey

Fifty-nine antiquities looted from Italy, Iraq, and Indonesia, including 45 seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have been returned to their countries of origin, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday. Among the objects seized from the Met and returned to Italy was a terracotta vase used for chilling and mixing wine and water, attributed to the famed Troilos Painter. One side depicts Dionysos, the Greek god of wine, and the hero Herakles on Mount Olympus; the reverse shows members of the Olympian pantheon, including Zeus, Athena, and Nike. According to New York investigators, the vase was smuggled out of Italy by Fritz Burki and consigned for sale at Christie’s London before entering the museum’s collection. Also seized from the Met was a marble fish plate from Magna Graecia, dating to around 400 B.C.E., which entered the museum through dealer Robert Hecht in 1984. Related Articles Nine antiquities collectively valued at nearly $300,000 were returned to Iraq. Among them were two of the earliest known sculptural depictions of the human figure in the …

Manhattan D.A.’s Office Returns 17 Stolen Antiquities to Italy

Manhattan D.A.’s Office Returns 17 Stolen Antiquities to Italy

Published by José Betancourt

In a restitution ceremony held this week, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office returned 17 stolen antiquities and rare books collectively valued at more than $1.5 million to Italy and the Vatican. According to a statement by D.A.’s office, the objects were recovered after “multiple investigations into antiquities trafficking networks.” The items include six rare Chinese-language books—largely on scientific subjects—written by Jesuit clerics in the 16th–17th centuries; they are among about 40 such books stolen from the Archives of the Society of Jesus in Vatican City sometime between 1999 and 2002. Related Articles Such books date from a period when Jesuit missionaries were at the forefront of the Catholic Church’s efforts to gain a foothold in Asia. Starting Matteo Ricci in 1582, Jesuit emissaries to China embarked on a program of introducing Christianity alongside Western science and technology, translating treatises on astronomy, mathematics, cartography and other topics, as well as gospel texts, from Latin for the Confucian elite. The books were last documented in the archives in the early 1970s; they were offered for sale on …

Epstein Files Show Leon Black’s Links to Indicted Antiquities Dealer

Epstein Files Show Leon Black’s Links to Indicted Antiquities Dealer

Published by Jenni Sidey

A one-page document contained in the Department of Justice’s release of files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein connects billionaire art collector Leon Black with potentially looted Cambodian art and artifacts, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Formerly CEO of Apollo Global Management, Black is known to have paid Epstein for financial advice after his criminal offenses were public knowledge. He was formerly chair of the Museum of Modern Art’s board and remains a trustee there. Related Articles The inventory, dating to 2014, shows that Black held artworks from Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The spreadsheet is titled “Leon Black/ Narrows South East Asian Art Inventory,” with Narrows referring to an investment vehicle associated with Black. It itemizes a dozen bronze and stone sculptures, including depictions of Hindu god Vishnu and Maitreya, whom Buddhists revere. The total estimated market value of the works is $27.7 million, and purchase prices range as high as $7 million for a rendition of the god Shiva. These prices, including eight others in excess of $1 million, “would put several of the works …

In a First, Portugal Returns Looted Antiquities to Mexico

In a First, Portugal Returns Looted Antiquities to Mexico

Published by José Betancourt

In a sign of growing international cooperation in the restitution of looted artifacts, Portugal has returned three pre-Columbian objects to Mexico. This will be the first time Portugal has repatriated unlawfully acquired antiquities to that country. The three pieces represent distinct pre-Hispanic periods and cultures. They include a Shaft Tomb Culture female figure, a Maya painted vessel, and a Zapotec urn. According to a press release from Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the handover took place at the Mexican embassy in Lisbon on February 12. The objects will be returned to Mexico in the coming weeks. Related Articles “This return confirms that international cooperation protects who we are,” said Claudia Curiel de Icaza, Mexico’s Secretary of Culture. “Each restitution restores memory and identity to Mexico and reaffirms the shared commitment to combating the trafficking of cultural property.” The objects were originally flagged by the embassy in Portugal, which notified Portuguese authorities of their existence. Specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), an agency of the Ministry of Culture, subsequently reviewed photographs provided …

Matthew Bogdanos, of Antiquities Trafficking Unit, Wins Art Prize

Matthew Bogdanos, of Antiquities Trafficking Unit, Wins Art Prize

Published by José Betancourt

The Vilcek Foundation, a nonprofit that raises awareness of the contributions of immigrant to American history and culture, announced the recipients of its 20th annual prizes for excellence in the arts and sciences. Among this year’s honorees was Matthew Bogdanos, a former classics scholar, US Marine colonel, and current assistant district attorney in New York. Bogdanos is a familiar figure in the art world. In 2017, he launched the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, a division of the New York District Attorney’s office dedicated to recovering and repatriating looted antiquities. Since its inception, the unit has seized more than 5,000 objects from museums, auction houses, and private collectors, with a combined estimated value exceeding $300 million. Related Articles ARTnews followed one of Bogdanos’s most high-profile investigations, into New York hedge-fund pioneer and art collector Michael Steinhardt, for its 2022 Top 200 Collectors issue. This year, the foundation awarded Bogdanos the Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History, which carries a $100,000 purse, in recognition of his “lifelong dedication to recovering looted antiquities and his work to safeguard cultural …

43 Looted Antiquities Are Returned to Turkey

43 Looted Antiquities Are Returned to Turkey

Published by Jenni Sidey

Reflecting growing pressure by New York prosecutors on museums and private collectors, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and an American collector have returned dozens of looted antiquities to Turkey. As reported by the New York Times, a repatriation ceremony was held in New York on December 8. The repatriations are connected to a years-long investigation into antiquities trafficking networks by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit. The items returned on December 8 were all linked to plundered archeological sites in Turkey; according to the DA’s office, the items were stolen from those sites and then exhibited and sold by dealers using faked provenance records. Related Articles The objects included a 2nd-century marble head of Greek orator Demosthenes from the Metropolitan Museum of Art; a Roman bronze statue of an emperor from California-based collector Aaron Mendelsohn; and a group of 6th-century BCE terracotta reliefs from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Law enforcement seized the sculpture of Demosthenes—originating from a site near the modern Turkish city of Izmir—from …