Roman Bronze Bust Returned to Italy

Roman bronze bust. Source: Lynda Albertson (via Twitter)

Among the pieces returned to Italy last week was a Roman bronze bust: 

The Bronze Bust of a Man, dating to either the late first century B.C.E or first century C.E. The piece was trafficked by a Paris-based dealer Robert Hecht to a dealer in Switzerland, who ultimately sold the piece to a New York County based individual.

Who was the dealer based in Switzerland? And who was the private New York collector? 

Where was the bust found? 

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Steinhardt Panathenaic Amphora Returns to Egypt

Panathenaic amphora. Left: HSI New York. Right: Manhattan DA [Exhibit 73]

The return of antiquities to Egypt via the Manhattan DA included a Panathenaic amphora ("D.A. Bragg Returns 16 Stolen Antiquities to the People of Egypt", September 7, 2022). Images from the event show that it was one of the objects seized from the collection of Michael Steinhardt. 

The Manhattan DA document suggested an association with the site of Thonis-Heracleion. 

The style and details on the Vase from the Pan-Athenian Games are characteristic of black-figure pots recovered from recent underwater excavations at Thonis-Heracleion, off the coast of Egypt.

Such a findspot would be surprising given that there is no indication that the amphora has been derived from an underwater location. Was the amphora found elsewhere in Egypt?

The amphora was purchased by the dealer, Gil Chaya, in Dubai from Mohd Said Issa Mousa Jaradot. Steinhardt purchased the amphora on December 23,  2008, for $300,000.

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Classical Antiquities Returned to Italy from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source: Manhattan DA (September 6, 2022) / Lynda Albertson (on Twitter)

21 classical antiquities have been returned to Italy following their seizure from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. LM has listed some of the key people associated with the material. 

The objects appear to include (though no definitive list seems to have been issued by the museum):

Sculpture 

b. A marble head of Athena. Inv. 1996.178. 

e. Marble head of a horned youth wearing a diadem. Inv. 2012.479.10. The work has been on loan to, and on display at, The Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2007.  

q. A marble head of a bearded man. Inv. 1993.342. 

t. Castor and Pollux.

Silver Plate 

f. Gilded silver phiale. Inv. 1994.57.

Gold 

l. Pair of gold Apulian cylinders. Inv. 1981.134.1, .2 

Bronzes 

a. A bronze plate. Inv. 1986.322.2.  

s. Bronze statuette of Jupiter. Inv. 1997.159. 1987-1997, on loan to the San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas.

Armour 

m. Bronze helmet of Corinthian type. Inv. 2003.407.3. 

n. Bronze helmet of Italian -Corinthian type. Inv. 2003.407.5. 

o. Bronze helmet of Apulian-Corinthian helmet. Inv. 2003.407.4.  

Athenian Pottery 

Black-figured 

c. Attic bf neck-amphora, attributed to the Princeton painter. Inv. 1991.11.2. 

h. Attic bf lekythos, attributed to the manner of Elbows Out. Inv. 1985.11.3 

j. Attic bf amphora fragment, attributed to Lydos. Inv. 1985.11.1.  

k. Attic bf amphora fragment, attributed to the Amasis painter. Inv. 1985.11.2.  

u. Attic bf amphora fragment, attributed to the Amasis painter. Inv. 1985.53.  

White Ground 

p. Attic wg cup, attributed to the Villa Giulia painter. Inv. 1979.11.15.  

Red-figured 

d. Attic rf cup, signed by Hieron and attributed to Makron. Inv. 1979.11.8, 1988.11.4, 1990.170. 

Terracottas 

r. Terracotta statuette of a draped goddess. Inv. 2000.163. Gift of Robin Symes, in memory of Christo Michailidis, 2000.

Glass 

g. A glass situla with silver handles. Inv. 2000.277. 

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Attic Pot Fragments Returning from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fragment of amphora attributed to the Amasis painter. Formerly MMA inv. 1985.53.

Three of the fragments that were returned to Italy from the Metropolitan Museum of Art had been illustrated in the exhibition catalogue of the Amasis painter (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art September-October 1985; The Toledo Museum of Art, November  1985-January 1986; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, February-April 1986).

Two were attributed by Dietrich von Bothmer to the Amasis painter:

No. 2 bis: Inv. 1985.53; BAPD 14680; Search List U. Fragment of a panel amphora. Traces of a horse's mane. Attribution by Dietrich von Bothmer. 

Fragment of amphora attributed to the Amasis painter. Formerly MMA inv. 1985.11.2.

No. 17: Inv. 1985.11.2; BAPD 14683; Search List K. Fragment of a panel amphora. End of 'signature'. Attribution by Dietrich von Bothmer. 

Fragment attributed to Lydos. Formerly MMA inv. 1985.11.1.

One fragment was attributed to Lydos. It had been purchased from Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion in 1985:

(fig. 25) Fragment of a plate showing gods. Inv. 1985.11.1; BAPD 14695; Search List J. Attribution by Dietrich von Bothmer. 

All three fragments are reported on the MMA's website to have been with Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion until 1985 (the year of the Amasis painter exhibition). Fragment 1985.53 was purchased by Dietrich von Bothmer and given to the museum as an anonymous gift. 

How were these fragments 'discovered' in the very year of the exhibition? 

And what are the histories of the Amasis painter fragments purchased in the same and preceding year? How were they acquired? For some reason this information is not provided on the MMA website.

No. 18. Inv. 1984.313.2; BAPD 14656. Fragment of an amphora. Anonymous gift.  Attributed to the Amasis painter by Dietrich von Bothmer.

No. 18 bis. Inv. 1985.57.a-h; BAPD 14735. Fragments of a panel amphora; both sides. Anonymous Gift. Attributed to the Amasis painter by J.R. Guy in February 1984 'before the fragments came to New York'. 

No. 56. Inv. 1984.313.1; BAPD 14636. Fragment of a Band Cup. Anonymous gift. Attributed to the Amasis painter by Dietrich von Bothmer. 

What about the fragment of a Band Cup that was given to the museum in 1986 by Dietrich von Bothmer? What was its history?

Inv. 1986.99.6;  BAPD 9035071.

The recent return of the three pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art has started to raise questions about other pieces in the collection. 

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Further Shelby White Antiquities Return to Italy

Source: Manhattan DA (September 6, 2022) / Lynda Albertson (on Twitter)

I was looking through the images of the handover of the antiquities to Italy yesterday. The press statement did not clarify the collections linked with all the objects:

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the return of 58 antiquities valued at nearly $19 million to the people of Italy. The pieces were trafficked by Giacomo Medici, Giovanni Franco Becchina, Pasquale Camera and Edoardo Almagiá.

My main interest was in "21 of the pieces ... seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art" (see here).

I then thought that two of the pieces looked familiar. On the right side of the table is an Attic black-figured psykter with a procession of riders. A quick search in the Beazley Archive pointed me to the psykter in the Shelby White and Leon Levy collection (Glories no. 112; BAPD 43272). The psykter was known from images in the Medici Dossier and had been discussed on LM back in 2008.

Balancing the psykter on the back left corner is an Attic black-figured skyphos showing Odysseus in the Cave of Polyphemos. This too is in the White-Levy collection and was attributed to the Theseus painter by Dietrich von Bothmer (Glories no. 113; BAPD 43271).

Does this mean that the Italian authorities are revisiting the Shelby White / Leon Levy collection? Will there be further revelations? Are there other items from this collection included in the return?

Does this open the way for the British Government to request the immediate return of the Icklingham Bronzes?

It should be noted that the identification of the Shelby White skyphos and psykter were made by Associate Professor Christos Tsirogiannis. 

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Metropolitan Museum of Art returns material to Italy

White ground cup attributed to the Villa Giulia painter
Source: Manhattan DA

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has now formerly returned further material to Italy ("D.A. Bragg Returns 58 Stolen Antiquities to the People of Italy", Manhattan DA Press Release, September 6, 2022). The items include an Attic white ground cup attributed to the Villa Giulia painter (inv. 1979.11.15). It had been handled by Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion. 

Another piece is the marble head of Athena reported to have been looted from a temple in Central Italy and handled by Giacomo Medici and subsequently by Robin Symes and the Acanthus Gallery (inv. 1996.178). The Medici information was not included on the museum's website.

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Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion and the Met

The news that items derived from the Galerie Antike Kunst Palladion had been the subject of a search warrant at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art suggests that other material from this same source are likely to feature in future investigations.

• 1978.11.18: Bronze handle from a shallow basin
• 1980.11.2: Attic red-figured cup fragments, attributed to the Colmar painter
• 1980.11.3: Attic red-figured cup, signed Kachrylion, attributed to the Thalia painter
• 1980.11.4: Attic red-figured cup fragments, attributed to the Colmar painter
• 1980.11.10: Attic red-figured skyphos, attributed to the Brygos painter
• 1982.11.1: Attic red-figured cup fragments, attributed to the Antiphon painter
• 1982.11.3: Attic red-figured cup fragments, attributed to the Antiphon painter

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