Two more Bothmer donations returned to Italy

Cup attributed to near Psiax. Source: MMA.

In February 2026 two fragmentary Attic cups that had been given to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art by Dietrich von Bothmer were deaccessioned pending their return to Italy. Both were donated in 1984, and both had been acquired from Fritz Bürki. One was a bilingual cup attributed to near Psiax (1984.500.1; BAPD 44520) and the other cup was attributed to Epiktetos with a kalos inscription of Hip(p)archos (1984.500.2; BAPD 9055412).

We should note that the MMA has earlier returned a black-figured mastos attributed to Psiax (1975.11.6; BAPD 4525). Bürki was the source of other returns from the MMA including fragments from a Makron cup (1978.11.7a, d), and fragments of the Apulian dinos attributed to the Dinos painter (1984.11.7). He was also the source of some 11 per cent of the fragments in the sample selection of Bothmer fragment collection acquired by the MMA.

The MMA returns 45 more antiquities to Italy

Source: MMA

The Manhattan DA has announced that 45 objects derived from New York's Metropolitan Museum have been returned to Italy. They include a marble fishplate and two marble dishes said to have been found together that had been handled by Robert Hecht (the fishplate) or Jonathan P. Rosen (the bowls) (inv. 1984.11.6; 1985.401.1–2). Another group of 40 Italic items had been donated by Mr & Mrs Jonathan P. Rosen (inv. 1991.171.2–41). Some of these pieces feature in the catalogue of the Etruscan collection. It should also be recalled that Rosen was the source for some of the pieces of amber that have already been returned to Italy.

Another piece was an Attic red-figured psykter column-krater attributed to the Troilos painter that is said to be have been removed from Italy by Fritz Bürki (inv. 1986.11.12; BAPD 15922).

Other classical items from the MMA are to be handed back to Greece and Türkiye including the terracottas from the Panionion.

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Classical Returns from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art

Over 900 classical items - and perhaps as many as 1,200 if the Lydian haul material is included - have been deaccessioned from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Over 15 entries from the handbook to the classical collection form part of the returns.

These returns are now discussed in: 

Gill, D. W. J. 2026. "Context Matters: Classical Repatriations and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art." Journal of Art Crime 35: 55–93.

The scale of the deaccessions is staggering and does not reflect well on those who made the recommendations to acquire.

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MMA returns terracottas to Türkiye

Source: MMA

LM has drawn attention to the three terracottas apparently from the Panionion in Türkiye that the Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired as a gift from Robert Hecht in 1992. Prior to this they had been handled by George Zakos. All three terracottas were returned to Türkiye in June 2026.

The business relationship between Zakos and Hecht is worth exploring. Will other material derived from this partnership be returning to Türkiye?

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Further returns to Italy from the MMA

Formerly New York MMA 1991.11.6.1–2.
Source: MMA

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned another batch of Greek and Roman antiquities as a result of investigations by the Manhattan DA into objects handled by Frieda Tchacos, Gianfranco Becchina, and Fritz Bürki [see Manhattan DA press release].

Only one piece is highlighted in the press release, a fragmentary Sicilian terracotta relief:

Two additional adjoining fragments of the votive relief were found in the archaeological excavations of the temple of Demeter Malophoros at Selinunte, Sicily, less than ten miles from Becchina’s hometown. Those fragments remain in the Palermo Museum.

This is linked to the Becchina investigation. The relief had formed part of the Norbert Schimmel collection. One other Schimmel piece is among the repatriated objects, a bronze handle attachment in the form of a mask. Other Schimmel items appeared in earlier returns.

The two Bürki linked pieces were objects presented by Dietrich von Bothmer, an Attic bilingual cup attributed to near Psiax, and a fragmentary cup attributed to Epiktetos.

The Tchacos pieces include a pair of spherical Greek gold earrings, a pair of Roman silver cups —one carries a weight inscription for the pair — and an inscribed lid of a Roman cinerarium (Sextus Flavius Pencarpus). There is also a forged Roman funerary inscription.

These latest returns have implications for other material. A batch of material from Selinunte is discussed in my Artwashing the Past (2025) [chapter 11]. The Tchacos investigation will lead to the numerous fragments acquired by other museums (as well as the nearly 300 fragments in the Bothmer collection: and these are just the ones identified in the sample).

I am grateful to Jason Felch for drawing my attention to one of the Schimmel pieces.

CPAC and the Keros Haul

CPAC March 2026

The meeting of CPAC in March will be discussing the proposed extension of the cultural property agreement with Greece. The webpage is illustrated with an image of a Cycladic figure currently on long-term loan to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the Leonard N. Stern collection. The figure appears in the catalogue of the Keros Haul (no. 170). Is the use of a figure apparently derived from (or associated with) a notorious example of looting in the Cyclades really the best choice of image? What about other figures from the Haul that reside in other North American collections?

Members of CPAC may find it helpful to read about the Stern collection:

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

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.

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

 

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Towards a Corpus of Cycladic Figures

One of the ideas said to have come out of the Cycladic workshop at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is the creation of an online corpus of Cycladic figures.  The organisers of the workshop may not have been aware of these studies:

• Tsirogiannis, C., D. W. J. Gill, and C. Chippindale. 2022. "The Forger’s Tale: An insider’s account of corrupting the corpus of Cycladic figures." International Journal of Cultural Property 29: 369–85. [CUP]
• —. 2025. "A Corrupt Cycladic Corpus of Marble Figures." Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies 13: 203–33.[DOI]

We discuss the Future of the Cycladic Corpus with the following sub-divisions: An Archaeologists' Corpus; A Connoisseurs' Corpus; An Unresolved Corpus; and An Outcast Corpus. The Leonard Stern collection even has its own section: 'Learning from a recently formed private collection'. My BMCR review of the Stern collection also has a section on 'A Potentially Corrupted Corpus'.

We hope that those who have an interest in the importance of the archaeological context for these figures will be allowed to steer the project and (perhaps even more importantly) will assess whether or not it is a project worth pursuing.

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Drawing attention to "provenance" at the Met

Courtesy of Christos Tsirogiannis

One of largest group of repatriated material from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art was dervied from Palladion Antike Kunst and from Mr & Mrs Gianfranco Becchina.

The items include:

1. Attic bf lekythos, attributed to the manner of Elbows Out. Inv. 1985.11.3 [Until 1985, with Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion, Basel, Switzerland]; acquired in 1985, purchased from the Galerie Palladion. Deaccessioned for return to Italy in September 2022. Bibl. BAPD 16461.  
2. Attic bf mastos, attributed to Psiax. Inv. 1975.11.6 [Until 1975, with Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion, Basel, Switzerland]; acquired in 1975, purchased from the Galerie Palladion. Deaccessioned for return to Italy in September 2022. Bibl. BAPD 4525; Mertens 1979, 23 n. 13, pl. 9.1–4; Mertens 2010, 28–29, fig. 14. 
3. Attic bf amphora fragment, attributed to Lydos. Inv. 1985.11.1. [Until 1985, with Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion, Basel, Switzerland]; acquired in 1985, purchased from the Galerie Palladion. Deaccessioned for return to Italy in September 2022. Bibl. BAPD 14695; Bothmer 1985, 40–41, 56, fig. 25, n. 48.  
4. Attic bf amphora fragment, attributed to the Amasis painter. Inv. 1985.11.2. [Until 1985, with Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion, Basel, Switzerland]; acquired in 1985, purchased from the Galerie Palladion. Deaccessioned for return to Italy in September 2022. Bibl. BAPD 14683; Bothmer 1985, 34, 108, no. 17.  
5. Attic bf amphora fragment, attributed to the Amasis painter. Inv. 1985.53. [Until 1985, with Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion, Basel, Switzerland]; 1985, acquired by Dietrich von Bothmer, purchased from Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion; acquired in 1985, gift of Dietrich von Bothmer. This artwork was restituted in September 2022. Bibl. BAPD 14680; Bothmer 1985, 76, no. 2bis.  
6. Attic wg cup, attributed to the Villa Giulia painter. Inv. 1979.11.15. [Until 1979, with Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion, Basel, Switzerland]; acquired in 1979, purchased from the Galerie Palladion. Deaccessioned for return to Italy in September 2022. Bibl. BAPD 5330; Bothmer and Mertens 1979/80, 14–15; Mertens 1987, 59, no. 41; Picón, C.A. et al. 2007, 118, 430, no. 129; Connelly 2007, 111–12, fig. 4.19, pl. 8. 
7. Pair of gold Apulian cylinders. Inv. 1981.134.1, .2 [Until 1981, with Gianfranco Becchina]; acquired in 1981, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gianfranco Becchina. Deaccessioned for return to Italy in September 2022. 

You would think that it would make the curatorial staff at the MMA sensitive to any other material with this association. Thus, it came as a bit of a surprise that the example used in the Cycladic symposium today to show how "provenance" is displayed on the MMA website used the Cycladic figure that Christos Tsirogiannis identified from the Becchina archive. And the slide used quoted the "public" statement of previous history:

[By 1981, collection of Noroyoshi Horiuchi, Tokyo]; [until 1983, with Ariadne Galleries, New York]; 1983, acquired by Leonard Stern, purchased from Ariadne Galleries, New York; 1983-2022, collection of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Stern, New York; 2022, transferred to Greece; 2024-2034, on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Hellenic Republic.

The mention of the Becchina association was left unmentioned in the presentation even though that particular individual has been associated with objects handled by Horiuchi.

This does not feel like a rigorous engagement with the origins of the Stern collection. 

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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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Authenticity and Cycladic figures

I understand that in February there will be a closed conference to explore the Stern collection of Cycladicising objects currently on loan to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. One of the key issues that needs to be explored relates to the authenticity of the figures. Are some of them modern creations? Are some recreated from genuine figures? Are some the work of well-known forgers of Cycladic figures? Will it be possible to identify the works of forgers in other collections, perhaps including the Met?

Will delegates of the conference restate the importance of archaeological context in determining authenticity? Or will there be an exploration of "the land of parallel" where similar figures may not have secure contexts?

What will be the lasting academic contribution of this conference to the Early Cycladic period?

For further reading:

Tsirogiannis, C., D. W. J. Gill, and C. Chippindale. 2022. "The Forger’s Tale: An insider’s account of corrupting the corpus of Cycladic figures." International Journal of Cultural Property 29: 369–85. [Online]

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. [Online]

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Head of Demosthenes returns to Türkiye

Head of Demosthenes
Source: New York MMA

Back in November I noted that New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art had returned a marble portrait of Demosthenes to Türkiye. The head was acquired in 2012 (inv. 2012.479.9). The stated collecting history (sometimes known as "provenance") is as follows:

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.

The head was published in:

Zanker, P. 2016. Roman Portraits: Sculptures in Stone and Bronze in the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Pp. 36-38, no. 9.

The portrait now features in a press release from the Manhattan DA:

This sculpture originated in Türkiye near the modern city of Izmir and first appeared on the art market in the possession of the New York-based Ariadne Galleries, before passing through the hands of several private collectors until it was donated to the Met in 2012. Ariadne Galleries allegedly falsely claimed that it had bought the Marble Head from Fortuna Fine Arts—claiming to have done so two years before Fortuna Fine Arts even existed. Ariadne and Fortuna, which is currently under indictment in federal court for fraud, also allegedly falsely claimed that the Marble Head had previously been in the collection of Boris Mussienko—a name Fortuna and other galleries allegedly frequently used to create false provenance. Law enforcement seized the Marble Head from the Met in 2025.

For clarification the head was seized in September 2025. For other material associated with "Mussienko" see here.

Again this is a reminder of the need to authenticate the collecting histories before making acquisitions.

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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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Hecht fragment returns to Italy

Source: MMA

In January 2024 New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art deaccessioned the foot of an Attic black-figured band cup related to the Lysippides painter (inv. 2017.18; BAPD 340463). The fragment surfaced with Hesperia Arts in Philadelphia in 1957 and was discussed by Sir John Beazley in 1961. It then passed into the hands of Münzen und Medaillen in Basel (1963) and was then sold to the Toledo Museum of Art (inv. 63.25). It featured in the first fascicule of the CVA (1976). The fragment was deacessioned and sold through Christie's, New York (October 25, 2016, lot 15).

A press release (February 18, 2025) from the Manhattan DA informs us:

The Kylix was found and illegally excavated from the Etruscan archaeological site of Vulci in the 1960s before it was smuggled out of Italy by the New York and Paris-based dealer Robert Hecht.

In fact, the cup must have been removed in the 1950s (or earlier). But what is the basis of this new evidence?

More importantly, what does it means for museums that acquired items that passed through Hesperia Arts in the 1950s and 1960s? Eight items appear in the Beazley Archive Pottery Database, including a clutch formerly in the collection of J.V. Noble. There are even more pieces listed under "Philadelphia market": a quick check on some of the pieces quickly established a named link with Robert Hecht or Hesperia Arts. And I noted another black-figured amphora that certainly passed through Hesperia Arts but that information was not recorded on BAPD. 

Is Italy now pursuing items that surfaced well before the 1970 UNESCO Convention? Will this result in a further set of returns?

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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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Lions from the archaic Panionion

Source: MMA

In 1992 three terracotta antefixes decorated with the heads of lions were acquired by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (1992.36.1, 2, 3). Their histories were supplied:

[With George Zakos (1911-1983), Basel, Switzerland]; after 1983, with Janet Zakos (d. 2003); 1980s, purchased from Janet Zakos by Robert E. Hecht, Jr.; [until 1992, with Robert E. Hecht, Jr.]; acquired in 1992, gift of Robert E. Hecht, Jr.

Hans Lohmann's work at what has been identified as the archaic Panionion sanctuary (MYK 139) on Mykale to the north-east of Priene has found two lion-head antefixes. He then notes: 

Three identical antefixes which are evidently made from the same mold were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art at New York in 1992, but evidently came from this site.

Zakos has been linked to a number of controversial acquisitions of objects that had clearly been derived from Türkiye. They include the acquisition between 1966 and 1970 of a major hoard of Lydian silver plate by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA): this has been returned to Türkiye. Another major acquisition was the Sion Treasure of Byzantine silver that was acquired by Dumbarton Oaks in 1966. The treasure is reported to have been found in a field to the west of Kumluca in Lycia: the site seems to have been that of the city of Kordylla. The plate may have been associated with a church in the city or perhaps a nearby monastery: an inscription identifies ‘Holy Sion’. 

Antefix from the archaic Panionion
Source: Hans Lohmann

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Byzantine Capital Returned to Türkiye

A marble Byzantine capital showing the archangel Michael has been returned to Türkiye from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. 1983.167) [JSTOR]: it has been placed on loan at the museum (L.2025.28). The history (so-called "provenance") of the piece is as follows:

Possibly from the monastery of the Virgin Peribleptos, or All-Seeing (now the Sulumanastir, Istanbul); [Robin Symes Limited, London (sold 1983)]; Deaccessioned for transfer of title to Türkiye in September 2025

This adds to the growing list of objects linked to Robin Symes that have been repatriated to Greece, Italy and Türkiye. 

The capital is said (by whom?) to have been found near to the Sulu Manastir. If so, did the Met explore when the capital had left Türkiye? And should such an association be treated with caution?

Evans, H. C., M. Holcomb, and R. Hallman. 2001. "The Arts of Byzantium." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 58.

Evans, H. C. Editor. 2004. Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. No. 50. [Online]

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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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More returns from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tarentine funerary relief
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Manhattan DA has provided limited details about the recent return of antiquities to Italy [August 6, 2025; press release]. A cluster of items seems to be derived from Tarentum, and includes three fragments of a funerary relief that were sold to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1996 by Robin Symes. All had a reported history that suggested that they had been in an anonymous English private collection from the 1950s. Two of the returning items–a limestone column capital and a capital fragment from a naiskos—were gifts by the Aboutaam family in 1995. This group of material should alert other museums that hold Tarentine material supplied by Symes.

Among the 31 antiquities being returned to Italy is a fragmentary Attic black-figured column-krater attributed to Lydos. The fragments were derived from Robin Symes and additional fragments from the Rosens and Dietrich von Bothmer.

The Met has yet to issue a press release about its return.

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Lydian Hoard: More Returns to Türkiye

Source: New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned two more pieces of silver from the Lydian Hoard. They consist of a silver phiale (inv. 1980.11.13; Bothmer, Treasury no. 25) and a silver oinochoe (inv. 1980.11.16; Bothmer, Treasury no. 40). Both were purchased from the Classical Purchase Fund / The Bothmer Purchase Fund.

The history ("provenance") of the pieces is as follows:

Reputedly, collection of the family of Elizabeth Ebnöther, Zurich, Switzerland; [by 1980, with Galerie Nefer, Zurich]; acquired in 1980, purchased from Galerie Nefer. Deaccessioned for return to the Republic of Türkiye in June 2025. 

The press release from the Manhattan DA notes the association with Frieda Tchacos.

The use of "reputedly" to link objects to specific collectors is similar to the "reportedly" used for pieces in the Stern Cycladicising collection (discussed in BMCR).

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