A Cycladic(ising) Journey

In September 2025 New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art returned a number of items, including Cycladic, to Greece. The EC collared jar (inv. 2004.342.1) was significant enough to include in S. Hemingway, "Art of the Aegean Bronze Age." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 69 (2012), 21, fig. 34, and it is a reminder that as recently as 2004 the museum had been receiving suspect Cycladic material.

The controversial long-term loan of the Stern collection of Cycladicising material will be celebrated today by a symposium, "Journey to the Cyclades: Exploring the Early Cycladic Culture of Greece". Hemingway is due to be speaking about cultural patrimony. One hopes that the Director, Max Hollein, will talk about the reason why the Met has had to return so many hundreds of Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities to the countries where they were found. 

It is disappointing to see that issues relating to context and authenticity are not addressed as explicit topics by specific speakers. Will the issue of the figure that appears in the Becchina photographic archive be rehearsed? And will the Greek position on figure fragments derived from the Keros Haul [not a "Hoard"] be made clear?

For further discussion of the Stern collection see:

Gill, D. W. J. 2025. "Artwashing the Cyclades: The Leonard N. Stern Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." BMCR. 

—. 2025. "Leonard Stern Collection of Cycladic Antiquities". Museum of Looted Art. 

—. and C. Tsirogiannis. 2025. "The Stern Collection of Cycladic Figures and the Metropolitan Museum of Art." MeditArch 38: 1–24.

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An Analysis of the Stern Collection of Cycladicising Art

The loan exhibition of the Leonard N. Stern collection of Cycladicising art at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has been drawing much attention. Our detailed analysis has just been published by Mediterranean Archaeology.

Gill, D. W. J., and C. Tsirogiannis. 2025. "The Stern Collection of Cycladic Figures and the Metropolitan Museum of Art." MeditArch 38: 1–24.

The structure of the article is as follows:

I. Introduction 

II. The Formation of the Stern Collection 

III. Cycladic Figures in Public Exhibitions and Key Publications 

IV. From Cycladic Master to Cycladic Sculptor 

V. The Sources of Cycladic Figures Known Before 1970 

VI. Potentially Looted Material 

VII. Potential Forgeries 

VIII. The Rest of the Cycladic Collection 

IX. Repatriation or Loans: The Political Dimension 

X. Conclusion

Two other studies of the Stern collection have appeared:

Gill, D. W. J. 2025. "Artwashing the Cyclades: The Leonard N. Stern Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." BMCR.

Gill, D. W. J. 2025. "Leonard Stern Collection of Cycladic Antiquities". Museum of Looted Art.

There is a shorter discussion of the Stern collection in this study of Cycladic figures:

Tsirogiannis, C., D. W. J. Gill, and C. Chippindale. 2025. "A Corrupt Cycladic Corpus of Marble Figures." Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies 13: 203–33. [DOI]

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Further returns to Greece from the Met

Source: Hellenic Consulate General in New York

In September 2025 a number of antiquities were seized from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and at least six formed part of the return to Greece announced at the beginning of October. All have been acquired from Andrés A. Mata in 2001 and 2004, and all had been purchased from Fortuna Fine Arts. They include two stone axe heads (2004.342.3–4), a Cretan or Cycladic terracotta jug (2004.342.2), a Cycladic collared jar (2004.342.1), and two iron swords (2001.346, 2001.543). One of the swords was given to the museum in honour of Carlos A. Picón. 

A further piece was mentioned in the press release, an archaic bronze gorgon applique. It had apparently surfaced through Robert Hecht, who sold it to Fortuna Fine Arts. It then added: 

Fortuna then falsely claimed that the Gorgon came from William Froelich, a name frequently used by Fortuna and other galleries in its false provenance. Thereafter, the Gorgon was sold to a private collector who placed the antiquity on loan at the Met. The Antiquities Trafficking Unit seized the Gorgon from the Met in 2025. 

This appears to be the figure that formed part of the exhibition, ‘Dangerous Beauty’, and was identified as coming from the collection of Andrés A. Mata. (The figure can be seen in press photograph of the October 2025 handover.)

Another gorgon applique that passed through Fortuna Fine Arts was acquired by the Carlos Museum at Emory University in 2017: it was a gift of Mata, Sybil and Ed Ralston, and Judy and Michael Steinhardt (2017.025.001). Mata also gave an inscribed bronze hydria rim to the museum in 2014 in honour of Jasper Gaunt (2014.023.001). 

The mention of Froelich is important as it appears, in connection with Fortuna Fine Arts, in the history of a Tarentine limestone funerary relief acquired by the Met in 2013. Froelich and Fortuna came together in the history of a Canosan terracotta figure of Zeus that was withdrawn from a sale at Christie’s. The history also mentions Boris Mussienko. This name appears against a bronze Aphrodite on loan to the Met from a private collector and returned to Italy.

Fortuna then falsely claimed that the Statuette came from Boris Mussienko, a name frequently used by Fortuna and other galleries in its false provenance. Thereafter, the Statuette was sold to a private collector who placed the antiquity on loan at the Met. The Antiquities Trafficking Unit seized the Statuette from the Met in 2025.

The Met seizures may well have serious implications for other collections.

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Returns to Greece from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: MMA

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that it returned 12 antiquities to the Hellenic Republic of Greece in October. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that it is returning 12 objects to the Hellenic Republic of Greece, including: four pieces of jewelry, two iron machaira (swords), two bronze belt clasps, two terracotta jugs, and two stone axe heads, and one group of silver spirals. The archaeological works range in date from 2700 BCE to 400 BCE. The works range in date from 2700 BCE to 400 BCE. Through the Museum’s cooperation with the Manhattan DA’s office, and as a result of its investigation into Fortuna Fine Arts, the Museum recently received new information that made it clear that the works should be repatriated, resulting in a constructive resolution.

The return is presumably part of this oblique press release from the Manhattan DA that acknowledges help from Fortune Fine Arts. Some of the items can be recognised here.

Although the press release does not give further details (and the press release list is not entirely accurate), these items can be identified as:

• gold pendant, [1999.12] 
• [Until 1999, with Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc., New York]; acquired in 1999, purchased from Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.
• two silver bracelets [1991.170.1] [1991.170.2]
• [Until 1991, with Selim Dere, New York]; acquired in 1991, gift of Selim Dere. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.
• Gold and silver bracelet, [1993.314]
• [Until 1993, with Selim Dere, New York]; acquired in 1993, anonymous gift. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.
• two iron machaira (swords), [2001.346] [2001.543]
• [Until 2001, with Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc.]; acquired in 2001, purchased from Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.
• [Until 2001, with Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc., New York]; 2001, purchsed by Andres A. Mata from Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc.; acquired in 2001, gift of Andres A. Mata, in honor of Carlos A. Picon, 2001. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.
• two Macedonian bronze belt clasps, [2001.578] [2001.579]
• [Until 2001, with Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc.]; acquired in 2001, purchased from Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.
• 2001.579: Purchase, Mrs. Constance Goulandris Gift, in memory of Christos G. Bastis, 2001
• Cycladic or Cretan terracotta jug,  [2004.342.2]
• [Until 2004, with Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc., New York]; June 2004, purchased by Andres A. Mata from Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc.; acquired in 2004, gift of Andres A. Mata. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.
• Cycladic collared jar, [2004.342.1]
• [Until 2004, with Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc., New York]; June 2004, purchased by Andrés Mata from Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc., New York; acquired in August 2004, gift of A. Mata. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.
• two stone axe heads, [2004.342.3]] [2004.342.4]
• [Until 2004, with Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc., New York]; June 2004, purchsed by Andres A. Mata from Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc.; acquired in August 2004, gift of Andres A. Mata. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.
• one group of silver spirals. [1992.367.1–.6a, b]
• [Until 1992, with Selim Dere, New York]; acquired in 1992, anonymous gift. Deaccessioned for return to the Hellenic Republic in September 2025.

Other pieces of interest (not apparently discussed in the press release) include:

• a terracotta figure returned to Italy [2000.39]
• Private collection, England; [until 2000, with Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc.]; acquired in 2000, purchased from Fortuna Fine Arts, Inc. Deaccessioned for return to the Republic of Italy in September 2025.
• See Manhattan DA press release for mention of Fortuna Fine Arts
• a marble head of Demosthenes returned to Türkiye [2012.479.9]
• Mussienko Family Collection, Maryland, 1973. Sold by Fortuna Fine Arts, New York, to Ariadne Gallery, New York, in 1987. Sold by the Ariadne Gallery to Morris Pinto, New York, before December, 1992. Consigned by Morris Pinto to Christie’s New York, December 15, 1992, lot 14, passed in. Consigned by Morris Pinto to the Acanthus Gallery, New York. Acquired by Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer from the Acanthus Gallery, New York, before 1998. Given by Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2012. Deaccessioned for return to the Republic of Türkiye in September 2025.

The press release remarks:

As part of a commitment to transparency, The Met has launched object webpages for all restituted works of art, specifying that the object has been returned and to what country.

It would be helpful, in the spirit of transparency, if the so-called provenance team provided more precise information about their returns. A concerted effort to tidy up the "repatriated objects" page would be a start.

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The Stern Collection of Cycladicising Figures

My review article on the Stern collection of Cycladicising figures currently on display at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has been published: "Artwashing the Cyclades: The Leonard N. Stern Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," BMCR (July 2025).

"The Stern collection of Cycladica holds lessons for the way that we approach ancient material culture. Viewers of this display will have their perceptions of the Early Bronze Age Cyclades shaped by the objects presented to them. Viewers—and that includes visitors to the exhibition—trust that the curators who create displays of ancient material culture are presenting authentic ancient material."

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Metropolitan Museum of Art Returns Griffin to Greece

In 1972 the Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired a bronze griffin head that was "said to have been found in Olympia" (Bothmer), specifically in the river bed of the Kladeos near to the Gymnasium (inv. 1971.118.54). The find was recorded in Deltion for 1915. 

In 2019 Elizabeth Marlowe reminded us of the history of the head:

A bronze griffin head displayed at the museum just beyond the ticket counter was found in a riverbed at Olympia in Greece in 1914, only to disappear from the archaeological museum there years later. It resurfaced on the art market in 1948, when it was bought by a Met trustee who eventually donated it to the museum.

The museum responded:

The Bronze Head of a Griffin was a gift in 1972 from Walter Baker and has never been the subject of a dispute.

Yet now the Met has decided to return the griffin head to Greece and present the full collecting history:

Chance find by Th. Karachalios, supervisor of the Olympia Museum, in the bed of the Kladeos river at Olympia, near the gymnasium, in December 1914; in 1937/38 published as no longer to be found at the Olympia Museum; [by 1936, with Theodore Zoumpoulakis, Athens and Paris]; [Summer 1936, purchased by Joseph Brummer from Th. Zoumpoulakis]; [1936-1948, with Joseph Brummer, New York (P13197)]; January 15, 1948, purchased by Walter C. Baker from J. Brummer; 1948-1971, collection of Walter C. Baker, New York; acquired in 1972, bequest of Walter C. Baker.

Zoumpoulakis is known to have handled several objects that ended up in major European and North American collections, some perhaps of modern creation. The Met adds to the decision to return the head:

The Met and the Greek Ministry agreed to the return of the Griffin after careful review of records and letters determining that it could not have legitimately left the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.

What other suspicious pieces lurk among the collection housed in the Met? 

This return coincides with the "Cultural Property Now" event held at the Met. It is linked to the controversial display of the "Cycladicising" collection formed by Leonard N. Stern that contains material linked to the notorious Keros Haul, as well as items identified from the Becchina archive. 

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Part of the Cycladic Corpus of Figures?

(2024)

When you go to a museum to see an exhibition of ancient artifacts you expect them to be … ancient. You have been enticed into the show to see a carefully selected group of objects that are supposed to inform you about the past … and you are left wondering if they are indeed just modern interpretations.

Individuals working on the reconstruction of the Minoan Palace at Knossos on Crete are known to have worked on making elaborate forgeries. One of the most fascinating accounts of a death-bed confession is provided by Sir Leonard Woolley in his wonderfully named autobiography, As I Seem To Remember. These workmen understood what Sir Arthur Evans, the excavator, thought was ‘minoanizing’ and therefore could include details that made museum curators think that they were buying genuine objects from Crete that could then be presented in their public galleries to inform visitors about prehistoric Crete. One of these, the marble “Fitzwilliam Goddess” was acquired by the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge in 1926 and inspired generations of Cambridge students to study the prehistoric cultures of the Aegean. The statue even graced the frontispiece of the first volume of the Cambridge Ancient History. 

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has just opened a new long-term—25 years—exhibition of Cycladicizing marble figures and other objects derived from the collection formed by the North American collector Leonard Stern. Not a single piece comes from a recorded archaeological context, and there is no certainty that all the figures can in fact dated to the third millennium BCE. The presence of forgeries among Cycladic figures is well known, and there is growing evidence that this can be traced back to at least the 1930s — and even before the First World War. This makes due diligence doubly important, not only to root out pieces that have been removed illicitly from archaeological contexts in recent decades—one figure in the collection has been identified in the photographic archive of a well-known Swiss-based handler of recently-surfaced material—but also to ensure that the figure did not pass through routes to the market that are now recognised as suspicious. 

Source: Becchina archive
Courtesy: Christos Tsirogiannis

Figures from the Stern collection feature in the standard works on Cycladic figures such as Pat Getz-Gentle’s Personal Styles in Early Cycladic Sculpture, but this does not necessarily mean that they are ancient. Indeed, her earlier work, Sculptors of the Cyclades, included, by her own later admission, a number of figures that she considered to be of modern creation. 

This is not a problem confined to the Stern collection. Figures in the Goulandris collection displayed in the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens equally lacks recorded and secure findspots. 

Archaeologists would seek to understand Cycladic figures that are derived from secure archaeological contexts, whether it be from graves on the island of Naxos, or in stratified deposits from Phylakopi on Melos. Can we allow these insecure pieces to enter the corpus of knowledge, thereby potentially corrupting it?

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Attic Funerary Relief Returns to Greece

Sources: Hellas et Roma; Hellenic Ministry of Culture

The Hellenic Ministry of Culture has announced that part of a fourth century BCE Attic marble stele has been returned from an anonymous US private collection [Press Release]. The relief featured in an advertisement for the gallery Palladion Antike Kunst that appeared in the back of a 1982 exhibition catalogue produced by the Swiss-based organisation Hellas et Roma.  (The Ministry of Culture press release misleadingly suggests that the relief appeared in an exhibition catalogue implying that the stele was displayed.) A parallel for the stele was found at Kallithea in 1896; it marked the burial of Agnostrate daughter of Theodotos (Athens NM inv. 1863: cat. no. 417).

Christos Tsirogiannis has verified that images of the returning stele feature in the Becchina archive, and specifically to Nino Savoca, a dealer based in Munich. It appears that the stele first surfaced in the late 1970s. 

This stele forms part of a growing list of objects returned to Greece and Italy that had featured in the Becchina archive. Yet the Hellenic Ministry of Culture seems to be reluctant to seek the return of other objects that feature in this source, notably the Cycladic figure in the Leonard Stern collection (and currently on loan to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art) and the pithos, probably from Rhodes, in the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. (The Italian authorities, likewise, do not seem to have requested the return of fragmentary wall-paintings in the J. Paul Getty Museum.) 

Source: Hellenic Ministry of Culture

The stele fragment was returned with two other items: a fragmentary 4th century BCE funerary stele, perhaps from Thessaly, showing a woman (next to a child; note the raised hand) who holds a box; and an hellenistic bronze male figure, perhaps of an athlete. 

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The Stern Collection in New York: Cycladic or Cycladicising?

Courtesy of Christos Tsirogiannis

There appears to be excitement about the display of 161 Cycladicising objects at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (Nikolas Zois, "The Cyclades in New York City", ekathimerini.com January 26, 2024).

Doubts have already been raised by eminent archaeologist Christos Doumas that the collection contains modern creations. Have these concerns been addressed by those who have organised this display of ungrounded material?

Earlier this week a delegation from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture accepted the return of three items from the Michael C. Carlos Museum. Two of the pieces, a Minoan larnax and a funerary sculpture, were returned on the basis of their identification (by Christos Tsirogiannis) in the Becchina photographic archive. Yet Tsirogiannis has been able to identify at least one of the Stern figures in the same archive. 

At the same time five of the Stern figures are catalogued as part of the Keros haul. (The Hellenic authorities overlooked the Keros haul material at the Michael C. Carlos Museum even though they had taken action when the fragments were auctioned in London.)

It seems that some have not taken steps to learn about the material and intellectual consequences of collecting Cycladic figures. 

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The Carlos Museum: Time to Reflect?

The return of three antiquities acquired in 2002 and 2003 raise a number of issues for the curatorial team at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. The museum appears to overlook a number of 'facts' in the way that it has written about the return.

First, a Greek journalist, Nikolas Zirganos, raised the issue of three pieces back in 2007: two of the pieces are included in the return. 

Second, there was a suggestion that the Greek authorities had raised concerns about the three pieces at the time.

Third, the identifications had been made by Christos Tsirogiannis.

Fourth, discussion of these issues had been raised on social media and in an academic paper by 2009.

Yet, reading the Emory press statement you would never realise that concerns had been raised over such a long period of time. You could even have been forgiven for thinking that the road to repatriation had been researched by one of their own. Why did it take the museum so long to enter negotiations with the Greek authorities?

The link to the page listing the three objects does not give a complete picture of the owners / handlers of the three pieces. Indeed, there is no mention of the association of one of the items with Japan.

It would have been helpful if the museum had given the full (and correct) history of each of the pieces. And the suggestion that two of the pieces are associated with a particular dealer pointed to problems with the collecting history. Yet the third piece mentioned by Zirganos was linked to this same dealer: why has this been excluded from the agreement? Is it assumed that the full history had been disclosed?

How much of the supplied information is trustworthy? What is the basis of this knowledge? Is there supporting evidence?

What other pieces in the collection need to be investigated with the same level of rigour?

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Returns to Greece from Michael C. Carlos Museum

Some things take time. Back in 2007 Nikolas Zirganos wrote a story about three antiquities in the Michael C. Carlos Museum [see here]. The identifications had been made by Christos Tsirogiannis. 

Over the years the museum has released further snippets of information: e.g. the revised history for the larnax. 

It was announced today that as part of a cultural agreement between Emory University and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, three items would be returning to Greece:

a. Minoan larnax (inv. 2002.034.001). "The Carlos purchased the larnax from Robert Haber, New York in 2002. At the time of purchase, the museum believed the larnax to have been in the collection of Nicholas Koutoulakis (1910-1996) since the late 1960s."

b. Statue from funerary naiskos (inv. 2003.005.001). "The Carlos purchased the figure in 2003 from Michael Ward, New York. No provenance information was given by the dealer. "

c. Statue of a muse (formerly inv. 2002.031.001A/B). "Carlos purchased the sculpture in 2002 from New York-based dealer Robert Hecht (1919-2012), who stated he and partner George Zakos (1911-1983) had owned it since 1974."

It is puzzling that the pithos was not included in the return even though it appears in the Becchina archive (see here). It was said to have resided in the Goumaz collection and was sold to the Carlos by Phoenix Ancient Art. The pithos featured in the original Zirganos article.

Nor is there mention of the fragmentary Cycladic figures from the Keros haul. The Greek Government sought to stop their sale when they passed through an auction in London in 1990 for the benefit of Save the Elephants.

For more on the agreement: press release.

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The Parthenon Sculptures and the political arena

Metope from the Parthenon © David Gill

Listeners to Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament today can hardly have failed to notice that the Parthenon marbles are very much a live issue (see "PMQs: Rishi Sunak accuses Greek PM of grandstanding over Elgin Marbles", BBC News 29 November 2023). This follows the cancellation of a planned meeting between the British Prime Minister and the Greek Prime Minister that had been due to take place earlier in the week ("Sunak cancels Greek PM meeting in Parthenon Sculptures row", BBC News 28 November 2023). 

So much of the debate has been about whether or not the British Museum has the legal powers to return the sculptures. The Leader of the Opposition has hinted that he would be open to supporting a loan to Athens ("Parthenon Sculptures: Row about politics as much as history", BBC News 28 November 2023). 

But the art historical position is surely this: was the intention of the sculptors who created these architectural marbles—as well as Pheidias who oversaw the project—that they should be displayed together rather than to be dispersed? And should they be placed so that the public can see them in line of sight with the Parthenon? 

Then there is a cultural question: how can the display of the sculptures in Athens enhance the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Athenian Akropolis? 

© David Gill

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The Michael C. Carlos Museum and the Becchina Archive

Image from the Becchina photographic archive courtesy of Christos Tsirogiannis;
objects in the Michael C. Carlos Museum

The Michael C. Carlos Museum has issued details of the five items that will be handed over to Italy (and three of them will remain on loan). Three of the pieces—the Laconian cup, the Attic Band Cup, and the Apulian fishplate—feature in images from the Becchina archive. The implications of the images are clear: "the fact that the Carlos could not determine where the [cup] was before it was with Palladion, there is a high probability the cup was looted".

This makes us turn to two other pieces in the Carlos Museum that feature in the Becchina archive: the Minoan larnax and the Rhodian pithos. The larnax is now only said to have been with Nikolas Koutoulakis, whereas in 2022 it was said to be 'with' Koutoulakis. What is the basis of the evidence? Does the Becchina image and paperwork suggest that it passed to other collections? Note that the larnax later passed to Noriyoshi Horiuchi in Japan.

The history for the pithos that is placed on the Carlos Museum website makes no mention of it passing through the hands of Becchina or Palladion Antike Kunst. Has the history as it has been presented been fabricated? What is the authenticated documentation for the Carlos Museum version of events? Was it supplied by the vendor, Phoenix Ancient Art? 

The curatorial staff at the Carlos Museum are clearly wanting to do, and be seen to do, the professional thing by returning objects to their countries of origin when new information comes to light. (Incidentally the pithos and larnax were discussed in the Greek press in June 2007 after they had been identified in the Becchina archive by Christos Tsirogiannis.)

Where does this leave other Becchina material in the Carlos Museum?

I am grateful to Christos Tsirogiannis for sharing the images with me.

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LHIII Glass Necklace(s) at the Michael C. Carlos Museum

Source: Michael C. Carlos Museum

In 2004 the Michael C. Carlos Museum purchased a series of LHIII glass necklace fragments from Harry Bürki (inv. 2004.037.001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009, 010, 011, 012, 013, 019, 023). There were also some LHIII glass bead fragments (inv. 2004.037.014, 016, 017, 018, 020, 021, 022, 024, 025, 026, 027, 029, 030, 031, 032).

There is no mention of previous publication ('to our knowledge, this object has never been published') or previous owners. How did Bürki acquire them? Where were these fragments between 1970 and 2004? What was the museum's justification for acquiring them? What was the rigorous due diligence process?

Also in 2004, Phoenix Ancient Art gave the Carlos Museum a series of LHIII glass necklace fragments: rosette (inv. 2004.017.001, 002, 003, 004), double rosette (inv. 2004.017.009, 010, 011, 012), octopus (inv. 2004.017.005, 006, 007, 008). There was also a gold 'necklace element in the form of a papyrus spray' (inv. 2004.017.020).

There is no mention of previous publication or previous owners. How did Phoenix Ancient Art acquire them? Where were these fragments between 1970 and 2004? What was the museum's justification for acquiring them? What was the rigorous due diligence process?

Will the Carlos Museum be providing the background information to these acquisitions given the sensitivity over the so-called Aidonia Treasure? Is there a reason that some of these pieces do not appear to feature on the AAMD Object Register, or that for others there are pictures on the Object Register but not on the museum's website? 

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Becchina and the Michael C. Carlos Museum

Source: Michael C. Carlos Museum

An Attic marble funerary sculpture was acquired by the Michael C. Carlos Museum in 2023 from Michael Ward of New York (inv. 2003.005.001). The online catalogue entry indicates that the sculpture was derived from Gianfranco Becchina. 

We note that Ward is cited in the most recent set of returns (October 2023) by the Manhattan DA.

What is the documented history of the sculpture between 1970 and 2003? Has this 'gap' been explained by authenticated paperwork? What rigorous due diligence checks were conducted prior to acquisition? Will the Carlos release the documentation for this sculpture in the spirit of academic transparency?

Is it significant that this important sculpture is not on public display?

Becchina is one of the individuals who handled the Minoan larnax acquired by the Carlos in 2002.

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Two bronze hydriai: one from a Munich collection

L: Formerly Shelby White collection
R: Currently Michael C. Carlos Museum

Jasper Gaunt has drawn a parallel between a bronze hydria returned to Greece from the Shelby White collection and a second acquired by the Michael C. Carlos Museum from Robert Hecht in 2001. The second piece is reported to have once formed part of the collection of Doris Seebacher in Munich, Germany.

The authorities at the Carlos might like to consult the index of Peter Watson and Cecilia Todeschini, The Medici Conspiracy, in order to find out more about this 'collector'. 

Can the hydria's history be traced back to the period prior to 1970?

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Bronze Hydria Returns to Greece

Source: Homeland Security

Further photographs of the latest return to Greece have been released. The bronze hydria from the Shelby White collection is of particular interest (Greek Bronze Vessels no. 8). Jasper Gaunt drew a parallel with a bronze hydria in the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University (inv. 2002.012.001). The 'provenance' for this second hydria is given as:

Ex coll. Doris Seebacher, Munich, Germany. Purchased by MCCM from Robert Hecht (1919-2012) [Robert Hecht Gallery], New York, New York.

Is this the Doris Seebacher linked to Nino Savoca? Should the Michael C. Carlos Museum be contacting the Hellenic Ministry of Culture?

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Further returns to Greece

Source: Manhattan DA

The Manhattan DA has announced the return of 29 antiquities, worth over $20 million, to Greece ("D.A. Bragg Returns 29 Antiquities to Greece", March 21, 2023 press release; see also here).

The items include a gold coin celebrating the assassination of Julius Caesar that surfaced on the Munich market in 2016.

The press release mentions the seizure of a bronze krater:

The Bronze Calyx Krater, which dates to 350 B.C.E., once held the bones of a deceased individual in a chamber tomb. It was looted and smuggled into Switzerland, where it was cleaned and restored by Fritz and Harry Bürki, the Zurich-based restorers and business partners of Robert Hecht. Hecht then arranged to smuggle the piece into New York, where it was sold to Leon Levy and Shelby White. It was seized by the Office in January of this year.

This seems to be a companion to the krater apparently looted from Pieria that was returned to Greece in 2008.

Unmentioned in the release, but placed next to the krater, was a bronze hydria that appears to be the one from the Shelby White collection (Bronzes no. 8). It is decorated beneath the vertical handle with a relief of Orpheus and a satyr. Chi and Gaunt draw attention to a companion piece in the Michael C. Carlos Museum (inv. 2002.012.001) that was acquired from Robert Hecht.

The release also mentions the return of a Late Neolithic marble group:

The Neolithic Family Group, which dates to 5000-3500 B.C.E and valued at $3 million. This group of objects compromises five human and animal figures carved from marble, and was looted from the island of Euboea by a Greek trafficker who smuggled the pieces into Switzerland. In 1982 dealer-trafficker Nicolas Koutoulakis sold the group to New York-based collectors Leon Levy and Shelby White. White loaned the group to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2000, where they remained on display until March of this year, when it was seized by the Office.

The group had been owned by Charles Gillet and Marion Schuster. They are "said to be from Euboea, or the east coast of Attica opposite, near Porto Raphti, perhaps from an islet attached to the mainland in prehistoric times" (Glories no. 8). It is interesting that the release emphasises the findspot on Euboea rather than Porto Raphti or more generally Attica preferred by Getz-Preziosi and Thimme. There are aspects of the group that make me wonder if they are ancient, a concern raised by Thimme back in 1977.

Next to the Late Neolithic group, but unmentioned in the release, was a double Cycladic figure: a small female figure standing on the head of a larger one. This appears to be the figure in the Shelby White collection (NAC no. 18; Glories no. 9; Katonah no. 15). Next to them was an Early Cycladic II bowl that also appears to be from the Shelby White collection (Glories no. 15).

Among the other items that appear to have been other items that formed part of the Shelby White collection:

• Glories no. 76: A Late Geometric pair of horses 'said to have been found on Corfu, and for at least twenty years was in a collection in Austria. In October 1970, the group was lent to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna for restoration.'
• Glories no. 80: an armlet, two lidded pyxides, and an oinochoe from a hoard of at least 40 pieces found in northern Greece.
• Glories no. 141: a gold treasure consisting of a pair of coiled snake armbands, a pair of earrings with swans, a gold and carnelian necklace, a gold ring with carnelian intaglio, part of a gold wreath, and a gold diadem. 

The press release mentions that the Royal-Athena Galleries have co-operated with the investigation suggesting that some of the other items were from that source (perhaps including a fragment of wall-painting).

I note that Christos Tsirogiannis was involved with some of the identifications. 

We await for a full list of the return.

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UK Government and the Parthenon: Update

Parthenon metope in the British Museum © David Gill

British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has commented on the proposal that the architectural sculptures from the Parthenon that are currently displayed in the British Museum should be returned to Greece. Nick Gutteridge, writing in the Daily Telegraph ("Elgin Marbles will not stay in Greece, says Rishi Sunak", March 13, 2023), quotes Sunak on the "Elgin marbles" (commenting, "Greece calls [them] the Parthenon marbles" - perhaps overlooking the fact that archaeologists also talk about the building from which they were removed):

“The UK has cared for the Elgin Marbles for generations. Our galleries and museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a huge asset to this country,”

Is he suggesting that because the sculptures have resided in London for 200 years that they should remain here? Is Sunak placing an economic value on the heritage assets that reside in the UK's museums and galleries?

Sunak is also quoted as saying, 

“We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it." 

Tourism seems to be the justification for the UK to retain the sculptures. 

The Times (London) indicated that Sunak was in favour of a temporary loan of (some of?) the sculptures to Greece (Chris Smyth, Oliver Wright, Richard Fletcher, "Rishi Sunak latest: PM unveils defence spending boost and submarine deal", March 13, 2023). The report noted:

However, the museum is banned by law from disposing of objects in its collection and Sunak said “we have no plans to change it”. It is understood that Sunak does not believe that a long-term loan would be in the spirit of the British Museum Act.

There is little understanding that the Parthenon architectural sculptures were designed to be part of a specific building that now forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Athenian Acropolis.

See also D. W. J. Gill and C. Chippindale, "The trade in looted antiquities and the return of cultural property: a British parliamentary inquiry", International Journal of Cultural Property 11 (2002), 50-64. [DOI].

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From Geneva to Athens

L: source, Phoenix Ancient Art
R: source, Hellenic Ministry of Culture

The Hellenic Ministry of Culture has announced the return of 15 antiquities that had been seized from an unnamed antiquities gallery in Geneva [press release]. The Attic black-figured column-krater attributed to Lydos appears to be the one that features in the 2015 catalogue for Phoenix Ancient Art of Geneva and New York. Entry no. 4 shows the krater, reconstructed from 'large fragments', decorated with Herakles and the centaur Nessos. The entry suggests that it formed part of the Lambert collection in Neuchâtel prior to 1972 and then by descent through the family. 

Such histories may have to be treated with caution given the disagreement over the paths taken by the Ka-Nefer-Nefer coffin lid, the head of Drusus, and the Leutwitz Apollo. 

We do not know where the krater was unearthed, but northern Greece seems to be a likely possibility. 

I am grateful to a colleague in Italy who directed me to search the catalogue of Phoenix Ancient Art.

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