ROME — Italy on Tuesday celebrated the return of around 600 antiquities from the U.S., including ancient bronze statues, gold coins, mosaics and manuscripts valued at 60 million euros ($65 million), that were looted years ago, sold to U.S. museums, galleries and collectors and recovered as a result of criminal investigations.
U.S. Ambassador Jack Markell, Matthew Bogdanos, the head of the antiquities trafficking unit of the New York district attorney’s office, and members of the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations department were on hand for the presentation alongside the leadership of Italy’s Culture Ministry and Carabinieri art squad.
It was the latest presentation of the fruits of Italy’s decades-old effort to recover antiquities that were looted or stolen from its territory by “tombaroli” tomb raiders, sold to antiquities dealers who often forged or fudged provenance records to resell the loot to high-end buyers, auction houses and museums.
Markell said that Washington was committed to returning the stolen loot “to where it belongs” as a sign of respect for Italy and its cultural and artistic heritage.
“We know that safeguarding this history requires care and vigilance, and this is why we do what we do,” he said, adding that the U.S. was keeping a close eye on the latest target for art traffickers: Ukraine.
Not included in the latest haul from the U.S. was the “Victorious Youth” ancient Greek bronze statue, the object of a decades-long court battle between Italy and the Malibu, California-based Getty Museum. The prized statue recently made headlines anew when the European Court of Human Rights strongly backed Italy’s right to seize it, reaffirming that it had been illegally exported from Italy.
Bogdanos and Homeland Security officials declined to comment on whether or when the “Victorious Youth” might be returned, saying it’s part of an ongoing investigation.
Among the most valuable artifacts on display Tuesday was a fourth-century Naxos silver coin depicting god of wine Dionysius that was looted from an illicit excavation site in Sicily before 2013 and smuggled to the United Kingdom. Bogdanos said the coin, which was being offered for sale for $500,000, was found in New York last year as part of an investigation into a noted British coin dealer.
He said that other items were returned from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and some of the well-known New York philanthropists who donated artifacts to its collections that turned out to have been stolen.
The returned artifacts, ranging from the ninth century B.C. to the second century, also included a life-sized bronze figure, as well as bronze heads and multiple Etruscan vases. Other items, including oil paintings from the 16th and 19th centuries, had been stolen from Italian museums, religious institutions and private homes in well-documented thefts, the carabinieri said.
Bogdanos, who forged an alliance with the Italian carabinieri art squad as they tried to recover Iraq’s stolen antiquities after the U.S. invasion, said that Washington doesn’t distinguish between items taken during illicit excavations or those stolen in thefts: it all amounts to looting.
“Looting is local,” Bogdanos said. Locals “know when the security guards come on, they know when they come off. They know when the security guards are guarding particular sites and not others. They know when there are scientific, proper, approved archeological excavations, and then they know when those archaeological excavations close for example, for the winter or for lack of funding.”
Given that, he said, there will always be looting.
“Our job is to minimize it, increase the risk to those who would engage in this traffic, convict them and where appropriate, sentence them,” Bogdanos said.
The United States has pledged to return more looted antiquities to their countries of origin, following the recent commemoration in Italy of the recovery of 600 stolen artifacts. This promise comes as a significant step towards rectifying the damage caused by the illegal trade of cultural heritage items, which has plagued the art world for decades.
The issue of looted antiquities has long been a point of contention between countries that have seen their cultural treasures plundered and those that have profited from their sale on the black market. Italy, in particular, has been a vocal advocate for the return of stolen artifacts, with numerous high-profile cases involving the repatriation of looted items from museums and private collections around the world.
The recent commemoration in Italy of the recovery of 600 stolen artifacts serves as a stark reminder of the scale of the problem. These items, which ranged from ancient Roman statues to Etruscan pottery, were illegally excavated and smuggled out of the country before being sold to collectors and museums abroad. The return of these items represents a significant victory for Italy and a step towards preserving its rich cultural heritage.
In response to this growing awareness of the issue, the United States has made a commitment to work with other countries to repatriate looted antiquities and crack down on the illegal trade in cultural heritage items. This pledge comes as part of a broader effort to promote ethical practices in the art world and protect the cultural heritage of nations around the world.
The return of looted antiquities is not only a matter of justice for the countries from which they were stolen, but also a crucial step towards preserving our shared cultural heritage for future generations. By working together to combat the illegal trade in cultural artifacts, we can ensure that these priceless treasures are protected and enjoyed by all.
As we look towards a future where the trade in looted antiquities is no longer tolerated, it is heartening to see countries like the United States taking a stand and committing to righting the wrongs of the past. By returning stolen artifacts to their rightful owners, we can help to heal the wounds caused by centuries of plunder and ensure that our cultural heritage remains intact for generations to come.
