21 of the 58 artifacts taken from the Metropolitan Museum of Art were returned to Italy by the Manhattan District Attorney.

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The Manhattan District Attorney's Office reported Monday that over 60 artifacts worth nearly $19 million were repatriated to Italy. Some were taken from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.According to a news release from the district attorney, "These 58 pieces represent thousands of years of rich history, but traffickers throughout Italy used thieves to take these items and to feed their own pockets."Several hundred items were taken from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They have sat in homes, galleries, and museums for far too long, according to Bragg, without any legitimate claim to ownership.

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A bronze bust of a man from the first century CE or late BCE is among the items being returned, along with a marble head of the goddess Athena dating to 200 BCE, a drinking cup from 470 BCE, and a marble head of the goddess Athena.
Italian Consul General Fabrizio Di Michele commended Homeland Security Investigations and the District Attorney's office for their "tireless and resolute devotion" to recovering these assets.

Di Michele remarked, "These magnificent 58 works are a priceless asset of our history and tradition. It should be noted that this is the third ceremony for repatriation in less than nine months.According to the DA's office, 21 of the works were taken from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Monday, CNN contacted the museum to request a statement regarding the confiscation and return of those artifacts.

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According to the DA's office, the 58 objects were trafficked by four people and eventually found their way into the collection of US billionaire Michael Steinhardt, one of the biggest collectors in the world. According to the DA's office, Steinhardt has been granted a lifelong ban on purchasing antiques, a first in history.The repatriation is the most recent attempt to send cultural items back to their place of origin after they were forcibly sold to private collectors or institutions.

Numerous Steinhardt-related objects were among the stolen antiquities valued close to $14 million that were returned to Italy in July.
30 artifacts, including a "masterpiece" Khmer sculpture from the 10th century, were returned to Cambodia by New York officials in August.Three African artifacts, including two Benin brass plaques from the 16th century, were repatriated to Nigeria by the Met in 2021.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art had dozens of items taken.

According to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art has had dozens of ancient items seized that detectives suspect were stolen.With the aid of three search warrants, the office took 27 items from the Met. A representative for District Attorney Alvin Bragg told CNN that they would be sent to their home nations.The official told CNN that there would be two repatriation ceremonies the following week, one with Egypt and one with Italy. "58 artifacts will be returned to Italy, 21 from the Met, 16 to Egypt, and 6 from the Met."

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Collectors, art museums, and auction houses "should be aware that they may be in possession of items from known traffickers that were unlawfully looted," Bragg added."The investigations by my office have clearly revealed these networks and put into the public domain a wealth of information the art world may actively use to return antiquities to where they rightfully belong," the prosecutor said."Our investigations, which have resulted in the repatriation of around 2,000 things," he added, "will continue."

The Met has been contacted by CNN for comment.Cultural treasures that were forcibly sold to private collectors or museums have been attempted to be returned to their original countries. Officials from New York returned 30 artifacts to Cambodia in August, including a "masterpiece" of Khmer sculpture from the 10th century.In July, authorities also handed over to Italy dozens of objects recovered from US billionaire Michael Steinhardt, totaling roughly $14 million in stolen antiques.

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Three African artifacts, including two Benin brass plaques from the 16th century, were repatriated to Nigeria by the Met in 2021. After rising demand to hand over the priceless treasures looted during colonial periods, European museums started handing over stolen African art to the continent's home nations.

Restoring legacy to the brilliant cultures that created the looted treasures will be the ultimate step.

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There is growing pressure on European museums to return the priceless relics that were looted during colonial times. As an African-based archaeologist, this controversy directly affects my study.I take advantage of the ease of access offered by Western museums, but I am troubled by the moral conundrum of how they were transported there illegally and by guilt that my colleagues in Africa might not have access to see materials from their own country, which is kept at a distance of thousands of miles.

Art that was stolen from sub-Saharan Africa during the colonial era should now be returned through permanent restitution, according to a report commissioned by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.The 108-page research by Senegalese writer and economist Felwine Sarr and French art historian Bénédicte Savoy details the "stealing, robbery, despoilation, deceit, and forced acquiescence" used by colonial powers to get these artifacts. The demand for "restitution" reflects the commonly used strategy that aims to give back art that was stolen by the Nazis to its legitimate owners.

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The track record of colonial powers in African nations was abhorrent. With military expeditions launched based on the flimsiest justifications, colonial power was established by the barrel of a rifle. The Benin expedition of 1897 was a retaliatory assault on the historic kingdom of Benin, which was renowned for its magnificent cast bronze and brass plaques and statues in addition to its enormous city and ramparts.The British Admiralty auctioned off the loot, which included more than 2,000 objects of art, to "pay" for the expedition after the city was set on fire. About 40% of the total was received by the British Museum. All of the items left Africa, but they are now dispersed throughout various museums and private collections around the globe.

It culminated in the Battle of Magdala and the looting of priceless manuscripts, paintings, and artifacts from the Ethiopian church, which is said to have required 15 elephants and 200 mules to carry them all away. The British expedition to the ancient kingdom of Abyssinia, which never fully acceded to colonial control, was mounted to ostensibly free missionaries and government agents detained by the emperor Tewodros II. The British Library, British Museum, and V&A are still home to the majority of them.

References

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/met-museum-artifacts-seized-new-york-looting/index.html

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/italy-artifacts-returned-seized-from-met-museum/index.html

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/returning-looted-artifacts-restore-heritage/index.html