Tag: seizures

27 Objects Seized From the Met

“Bronze statuette of Jupiter” (second half of 2nd century CE)
 “Marble Head of Athena” (c. 200 BCE)
A terracotta kylix (c. 470 BCE)
Head of a Greek youth dated to the third to second century B.C.E.

Spencer Woodman and Malia Politzer first reported that 27 objects have been seized from the Met. 21 objects in July, and an additional six this week. The objects include Greek or Roman pottery, a marble head of Athena, and Hindu material. The seizures are largely the result of investigations by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Art Trafficking Unit and the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations. Given such a large amount of material, you might wonder what the Met’s response will be. Based on the comments of Met spokesperson Kenneth Weine, more of the same:

“The museum is a leader in the field in comprehensively reviewing individual matters, and it has returned many pieces based upon thorough review – oftentimes in partnership with law enforcement and outside experts,” Weine said. “The norms of collecting have changed significantly, and The Met’s policies and procedures in this regard have been under constant review over the past 20 years.”

 “Mother Goddess (Matrika)” (mid-6th century), India (Rajasthan, Tanesara), gray schist, 24 1/2 inches x 9 inches (via Metropolitan Museum of Art)

By now the Met must understand the illicit nature of so much of its collection. While a wonderful institution in many ways, its original sin remains its base instinct to compete with the grandest museums in the world. It has bought objects that simply cannot legally be bought, sold, and transported. The urge to be grand has meant that it has acquired so much that is stolen. There really is no other way to put it. They can point to dates and inconsistent laws and norms, but by now any reasonably informed observer knows the Met has dodgy material in its collection. No matter how much spin they want to put on their reputation as being a leader in reviewing their collection, the fact remains that so often it has been prosecutors forcing them into good behavior.

Flurry of Seizures Intensify Pressure on the Met over Artifacts Linked to Accused Traffickers – ICIJ (Aug. 31, 2022), https://www.icij.org/investigations/hidden-treasures/flurry-of-seizures-intensify-pressure-on-the-met-over-artifacts-linked-to-accused-traffickers/.

Lauren del Valle CNN Liam Reilly and Alaa Elassar, Dozens of Artifacts Seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, CNN, https://www.cnn.com/style/article/met-museum-artifacts-seized-new-york-looting/index.html (last visited Sep. 3, 2022).

Tom Mashberg & Graham Bowley, Investigators, Citing Looting, Have Seized 27 Antiquities From the Met, The New York Times (Sep. 2, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/arts/design/met-museum-looting.html.

Elaine Velie & Elaine Velie, Manhattan DA to Seize Looted Hindu Artifact From Met Museum, Hyperallergic, http://hyperallergic.com/757491/manhattan-da-to-seize-looted-hindu-artifact-from-met-museum/ (last visited Sep. 3, 2022).

Operation Pandora nets 75 arrests in Europe

This Byzantine depiction of Saint George was one of the artworks recovered.

Earlier this week police in Europe announced the fruits of operation Pandora, an investigation into an international art trafficking network. In total, 75 people were arrested and 3,500 objects and artworks were seized. The investigation centered in Spain and Cyprus. The network allegedly moved works of art from conflict areas, and dealt in objects stolen from museums. The Europol press release boasted that over 48,000 individuals were investigated, almost 30,000 vehicles were investigated (along with 50 ships).

According to the release the aim of the investigation was to:

[d]ismantle criminal networks involved in cultural theft and exploitation, and identify potential links to other criminal activities. Moreover, there was a special focus on cultural spoliation, both underwater and on land, and the illicit trafficking of cultural goods, with a particular emphasis on conflict countries.

The operation was supported by UNESCO, INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization, Europol, and law enforcement officials from 18 countries. This was an extensive operation, which took a great deal of cooperation and resources. The investigators and policy makers who made this investigation successful should be commended. And yet, is this kind of large scale investigation sustainable? Will art thieves and traffickers be chastened and refrain from art crimes? Will the arrests actually produce successful prosecutions unlike so many of American investigations?

  1. Raphael Minder, 75 Arrested in European Crackdown on Art Trafficking, The New York Times, January 22, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/22/world/europe/75-arrested-in-european-crackdown-on-art-trafficking.html (last visited Jan 25, 2017).
  2. 3561 artefacts seized in Operation Pandora, Europol, https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/3561-artefacts-seized-in-operation-pandora (last visited Jan 25, 2017).
  3. “Operation Pandora”: police in Spain and Cyprus lead major bust of antiquities traffickers, , http://theartnewspaper.com/news/operation-pandora-police-in-spain-and-cyprus-lead-major-bust-of-antiquities-traffickers/ (last visited Jan 25, 2017).