Earlier this month, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York returned dozens of smuggled artifacts to Turkey.
The repatriation ceremony occurred on December 8th in New York. It was a result of years of investigation by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, a specialized unit set up by the Manhattan DA’s office, into the plundering and smuggling of artifacts from archaeological sites in Turkey. One of the returned items was a marble bust ofthe Greek orator Demosthenes, found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The authorities seized the bust earlier this year after it was found to have been stolen from the modern-day city of Izmir in Turkey. After the event, the Met announced a self-investigation into its entire inventory.
A Roman bronze statue of an unidentified king was found in the possession of California-based collector Aaron Mendolsohn. The statue, allegedly looted from the ancient city of Bubon, is estimated to be worth $1.3 million. Mendolsohn, who is currently facing smuggling charges, voluntarily gave up the piece in return for leniency in his charges.
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However, the biggest cache of repatriated items came from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. A collection of 41 terracotta reliefs was surrendered by the museum. They came from a Phrygian temple in Düver; the ATU discovered it while investigating another smuggled piece stolen from the region in 2022. When the Virginia Museum was informed of this, they promptly gave up the reliefs. This is only the latest in the long and successful crusade of the Manhattan DA’s Office against smuggled artifacts in the US, particularly New York.
