The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has restituted 44 ancient artworks following an extensive six-month investigation led by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The museum revealed the investigation details and its outcomes on December 5, showcasing its cooperation throughout the process.
The investigation was initiated in May 2023, initially focusing on the documentation of 28 pieces in the VMFA collection.
However, it expanded after examining “photographic evidence related to sales receipts, invoices, bills of sale; shipping and storage records; import and export documents; shipping agreements; appraisal documents; provenance and source research; catalogs, brochures, marketing materials; and any correspondence.”
This led to evidence on an additional 29 pieces being examined for potential links to looting and trafficking, as reported by Art News.
The ancient works from the VMFA include notable items such as a Gnathian Askos (wine flask), ca. 330 BC, attributed to the Rose Painter from South Italy (Gnathia); an Etruscan warrior statuette, 5th century BC; a portrait of a soldier from a funerary collection, 3rd century BC, South Italy; and a container shaped like the god Bes (cosmetic container), 650-550 BC, Egyptian, 26th Dynasty, Late Period.
After four months of investigation, Matthew Bogdanos from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Special Agent Robert Massie from Homeland Security presented irrefutable evidence to the VMFA.
They concluded that 44 out of the 61 investigated artworks were either stolen, looted, or trafficked.
Among the illegally acquired items was an Etruscan warrior statue, directly stolen from its display in the Civic Archaeological Museum in Bologna in 1963.
Alex Nyerges, the Director and CEO of the museum, stated, “Virginia Museum of Fine Arts returns any works in its collection discovered to be unlawfully possessed, taking seriously all claims of repatriation of works in our collection and responding to them.”
The investigators Bogdanos and Massie commended the museum for its “exemplary cooperation with the investigation.”
