The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has seen its total valuation of looted artifacts rise to a staggering $95 million after recent seizures. Among the items recovered were 120 objects, valued between $20,000 and $26 million, from its collection since 2017.
The museum's own provenance research team, which was established in 2023 and now operates with a 12-person expansion led by Lucian Simmons, former restitution head at Sotheby’s, worked closely with investigators from the Antiquities Trafficking Unit at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. The recovery efforts are part of an ongoing mutual effort to identify and return looted artifacts.
Several ancient sculptures and vessels acquired between 1971 and 2001 were flagged for their questionable provenance, leading them to be sent from the museum’s holdings to the DA's office. The Met has also independently initiated 18 object restitutions since 2017 and brokered the restitution of over 150 Cycladic antiquities to Greece in 2022.
According to Matthew Bogdanos, who leads the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, continued seizures at The Met speak for themselves. Simmons noted that each artifact’s assessment is a complex and time-consuming process.
