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February 14, 2025

Investigators Win Repatriation Battle as Cleveland Museum Backs Down

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) has abandoned its legal fight to prevent the seizure of a prized bronze statue depicting the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Valued at $20 million, the artefact was looted from Turkey in the 1960s.  

The decision comes almost a year and a half after New York investigators issued a seizure order, on 31 August 2023, on the basis that the statue constitutes evidence of, and tends to demonstrate the commission of the crimes of, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, Penal Law § 165.54, and a Conspiracy to commit the same crime under Penal Law § 105.10(1).

The museum, which has featured the bronze in its collection since 1986, had challenged the order in court, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to prove the statue had been illegally exported.  In their lawsuit, the museum claimed that the headless sculpture, The Emperor as Philosopher, probably Marcus Aurelius, later renamed Draped Male Figure, had been lawfully acquired by the museum and that New York District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg’s office in Manhattan has no legal authority to seize it.  

In its prior federal filing, Cleveland Museum of Art v. District Attorney of New York County, New York (1:23-cv-02048),  Cleveland opposed the return of this statue citing contending that its former curator Arielle P. Kozloff Herrmann believed that the Philosopher did not come from Bubon and that any previously stated connection between Bubon and the Philosopher was mere conjecture.”

In 1987, the Museum dedicated an entire edition of The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art to the Statue and highlighted the Statue in a Year in Review exhibition. This Bulletin included an article in which Kozloff, CMA's then Curator of Ancient Art, questioned whether the Philosopher originated in Bubon and speculated that it might have been moved there at some point. She later walked back this statement following a visit she made to Bubon in 1986, during which she explored the site and the surrounding area and interviewed a guardon site, later indicating that she believed that the Philosopher did not come from Bubon and that any previously stated connection between Bubon and the Philosopher was mere conjecture, including the Museum's own previous and now-superseded label concerning the Philosopher's origin: "Turkey, Bubon(?) (in Lycia)."

Today, the CMA reversed that reversal and formally filed a Notice of Dismissal Under FRCP 41(a)(1), electing to drop its opposition, paving the way for this artefact's returned to its country of origin on the basis of scientific study the museum had "been able to determine with confidence that the statue was once present at the site.” 

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office Antiquities Trafficking Unit, headed by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos has been actively involved in the repatriation of stolen artefacts, including many bronzes identified as having been looted from the ancient city of Bubon in Türkiye. In recent years, prosecutors and analysts with the ATU have worked closely with academics and the Turkish authorities to seize antiquities looted from this ancient site that were laundered through the black market including a number of bronze figures and portrait heads, never before seen in documented collections.

By May 1967, law enforcement authorities from the Republic of Türkiye had uncovered their first lead as to these objects eventual origins, after a large, ancient bronze statue was found hidden in a looters house in the village of Ibecik, located in the mountainous region of the Gölhisar district, in the southern province of Burdur, less than 100 kilometers from the southwest Turkish coast.

This investigation, coupled with studies by Turkish archaeologist Jale İnan on behalf of the museum in Burdur, as well as notes gathered and seized from a local treasure hunter during investigations, helped to establish the find spot for this statue and other sculptures which once stood on the summit and slopes of Dikmen Tepe within the eastern Roman Empire city of Bubon.

According to the ancient Greek geographer Strabo, the city of Bubon formed a tetrapolis with its neighbouring cities of Cibyra, Oenoanda and Balboura.  Culturally diverse, at its pinnacle its inhabitants are said to have spoken as many as four languages: Greek, Pisidian, Solymian and Lycian. 

Travellers to Bubon as late as the mid-19th century described finding a walled acropolis, a small theatre of local stone, and the remains of tombs, temples, and other large structures in what remained of the ancient city.  Few of these survive today.  Decimated by a large-scale looting operation during the mid-20th century, the unprotected ancient city's movable cultural heritage became the victims of poverty and art market greed, with much of what had survived throughout history, being dug up and carried away for profit.

The Sebasteion at Boubon

In 1967, the archaeological museum of Burdur undertook the first legal excavation at what remained of Boubon.  During these emergency excavations, where some of the explored sites were reburied after exploration to afford more protection, site archaeologists documented a Sebasteion near the centre of the terrace close to the Agora.  This complex is believed to have been devoted to the worship of the imperial cult, honouring members of the Imperial family.  It is thought to have been in use for a period of over two centuries from the 1st to the middle of the 3rd century CE. 

Inside this Sebasteion, archaeologists discovered two inscribed podiums along the north and the east walls of the room, and four free-standing bases along the west wall.  Here, statues of emperors and members of the Imperial household would have been displayed.  

The majority of the dedications found at the Sebasteion date from the half century beginning with the joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (161-168 CE) and ending with the sole reign of Caracalla (211-217 CE).  Unsurprisingly, by the time archaeologists set about documenting the site, only one single headless statue remained.  All the others had been clandestinely excavated and illicitly exported out of the country.

As part of this documentation, Jale İnan assigned names to seven of the missing bronzes, based on seven of the 14 dedicatory inscriptions documented in situ at the Sebasteion.  According to the researcher's reconstruction, patrons or visitors entering this room in the middle of the 3rd century CE, would have seen bronze statues of Nerva, Poppaea Sabina,  Lucius Verus, Commodus, Septimius Severus and lastly, Marcus Aurelius on a podium which faced the entrance.

An inscription, documented in İnan's 1990 excavation notes, that stones forming the top course of the north podium read:

[Μ.Αυρήλιο]ν Άντωνεϊνον

Over the subsequent years, it was determined that as many as nine, possibly ten, life-sized bronze statues originating from Bubon had been excavated and sold onward, first by the site's looters and middlemen, then onward to a dealer in Izmir, a city on Turkey’s Aegean coast.  From there, it has been established that some were smuggled out of the country and into Switzerland, passing into the hands of Robert Hecht in defiance of Turkish laws which vested ownership of antiquities with the state.  

The Emperor as Philosopher
Image Credit:
Cleveland Museum of Art
By the late half of 1987, four of these six feet and taller spectacular bronzes, all male, three nude and one wearing a philosopher’s tunic, were known to be in the possession of a Boston coin dealer named Charles S. Lipson.  Lipson maintained relationships with several problematic art market actors, not just Hecht but also George Zakos and several others.  

The bronzes from Turkey were then circulated by Lipson in temporary exhibitions in several North American museums. From 1967 to 1981 they were displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Rutgers University. One of Lipson's bronzes, the draped figure relinquished by the Cleveland Museum of Art, was sold to the museum in 1986 via the Edward H. Merrin Gallery for $1,850,000 and quickly dubbed The Emperor as Philosopher, probably Marcus Aurelius.   

At the time of sculpture's purchase, the CMA's press releases and follow-up publications openly admitted that the bronze was part of a “group of Roman bronze figures and heads, believed to have come from Turkey” that represented various emperors and empresses, which had been created for a structure honouring the imperial cult in the mid-2nd century.  All details which perfectly aligned with the details of the statues which once filled the Sebasteion in Bubon.

Before mandating the statue's seizure, DANY's Antiquities Trafficking Unit, with the assistance of officials from the Republic of Türkiye, were able to locate and interview one of the individuals who actually looted and smuggled this statue and determined that the bronze had been smuggled into Switzerland by Robert Hecht then circulated onward via Charles Lipson, first via the exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and later loaned long term to the Metropolitan Museum of Art via a private collector before ultimately being purchased by the Cleveland museum.

Yet, despite the evidence presented at the time of its seizure and its earlier stance that the object had been lawfully acquired, the museum ultimately cited forensic evidence in its decision to relinquish the Marcus Aurelius statue.  It cited analysis of soil samples taken from within the body of the statue, as well as lead from a plug in its foot used to attach the statue to a plinth, which matched evidence obtained from the Sebasteion in Bubon proving the bronze had once stood there.

While these laboratory findings provide are a scientific nail in the coffin, linking this beautiful statue to its original site, this testing merely strengthens Manhattan's preexisting case for restitution.  The evidence of the object's trafficking from Türkiye, didn't rest on scientific analysis, which in this case, was miraculously made possible because the find spot remained relatively undisturbed.  

The case was weighted on multiple elements, including the first-hand testimony of farmers who told investigators that men from a nearby village found the bronzes buried on a hillside, beginning in the late 1950s and year by year, working in teams, removed the artefacts from the Sebasteion, many of which were sold to “American Bob,” absence of legal export permits and then unlawfully smuggled out of Türkiye.

Lest we forget, in 1962, the infamous American ancient art dealer Robert "Bob" Hecht was detained in Türkiye after he was seen inspecting ancient coins returning to Istanbul on a flight from heavily plundered Izmir, the same city where the intermediary dealer in this case operated.  As a result of that incident, Hecht was declared persona non grata in the country.  A friend of notorious Turkish antiquities smugglers, such as Fuat Üzülmez and Edip Telliağaoğlu, Hecht mediated the purchase of a large number of ancient artefacts which were smuggled from Turkey, before he turned his sights on Italy.

To date the ATU has restituted 14 antiquities, valued at almost $80 million, looted from Bubon. This Marcus Aurelius, headless though he be, is the 15th, and one I am sure the citizens of Türkiye will warmly welcome home. 

By:  Lynda Albertson

February 11, 2025

Facing Justice: Ashraf Omar Eldarir Pleads Guilty in High-Profile Smuggling Case


In a significant case of cultural property smuggling, previously reported on ARCA's blog, Ashraf Omar Eldarir, a naturalised U.S. citizen from Brooklyn, plead guilty before Judge Rachel Kovner yesterday in US Federal Court, in the state of New York, for his role in the smuggling of hundreds of Egyptian artefacts. 

Upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport on January 22, 2020 from an international flight from Egypt, Eldarir had submitted a customs declaration form to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP), as required for all travellers entering the United States.  On that form, he had stated that he was bringing in merchandise and agricultural products worth $300.  However, when CBP officers inspected his luggage, instead of finding low value business related products, they discovered three suitcases filled from top to bottom with antiquities wrapped in protective packaging. 

Inside Eldarir's careful bubblewrap and foam padding were a total of 590 Egyptian artefacts.  Some of these still had sand and soil adhering to them, a telltale sign which underscored their recent excavation, and, in the words of the agents examining his luggage, still smelled of wet earth. 

Along with the antiquities, CBP agents found documents "written in Arabic on watermarked paper with stamps affixed on the top right of the documents, and two-hole punches along the left-hand side" along with blank paper resembling that of the purported provenances, with the same watermark and two-hole punches along the left-hand side and thirteen loose stamps similar to the ones used on the provenances.  When asked if he had ever sold historical artefacts previously, Eldarir replied that he had sold "a few in the last few years", a statement which would turn out to be a gross understatement.

Given that he was unable to provide the customs agents with sufficient proof that the packaged artefacts he was importing into New York had legally been exported from Egypt prior to the enactment of the country's 06 August 1983 Law No. 117 "on the Protection of Antiquities, CBP seized the antiquities pending further investigation.

Eldarir was subsequently arrested on 28 February 2020 and charged in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, on two counts of smuggling, under Title 18 U.S. Code § 545, 2 and 3551 et seq.  As part of that investigation, the United States also sought forfeiture of the following antiquities in accordance with: (a) Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a)(2)(B):

forty-one (41) ancient Egyptian gold artifacts;

nineteen (19) ancient coins;

two (2) Greco-Roman rings;

thirty-one (31) ancient Egyptian talismans (Ptolemaic period);

fourteen (14) ancient beads;

twenty-six (26) ancient Egyptian wooden figures;

four hundred (400) ancient Egyptian faience ushabtis;

three (3) ancient Egyptian wooden panels with painted figures;

one ( I ) ancient Egyptian large stone face;

two (2) Egyptian wooden masks;

two (2) Egyptian stone panels with hieroglyphics; 

three (3) ancient Egyptian canopic jar lids;

two (2) ancient Greco-Roman stela;

one (1) ancient Greco-Roman terracotta headless torso with robes;

seven (7) ancient Greco-Roman terracotta statues; 

three (3) ancient Egyptian large terracotta vases; 

two (2) Egyptian smalIterracotta vases;

two (2) Egyptian alabaster artifacts;

two (2) ancient Egyptian Osiris headpieces/crowns; 

twenty-six (26) ancient Greco-Roman oil lamps; 

one (1) Greco-Roman terracotta pilgrim's flask;

one (1) ancient Egyptian polychrome relief.

For years prior to his arrest, Eldarir had been successfully laundering plundered artefacts onto the licit ancient art market.   Often his pieces carried with them a fabricated provenance claiming that the pieces were part of "The Ashraf Eldarir Private Collection of Ancient Art, New York, USA", or "Acquired by Izz al-Din Tah al-Darir Bey in Egypt December 1946 from Salah al-Din Sarmali Bey" or that they had been inherited through the trafficker's grandfather. 

To disguise their illicit origins, and to cosmetically claim that the pieces were derived from a collection which predated Egypt's ban on export, Eldarir's trafficked artefacts sometimes mentioned that his grandfather or "Ezeldeen Eldarir," was a friend of Prince of Egypt, Omar Tosson, with whom he shared a passion for archaeology or that the collection had been formed during the 1930s-1940s, mostly as gifts from Prince Tosson, which he claimed had been moved to the United States "in 1948 where it remained with the family until the present day."

With no export licenses, and no factual proof which supported his vague claims of long term ownership for the pieces he handled, aside from what would turned out to be self-made documents giving a cosmetic overhaul of legitimacy, Eldarir's smuggled antiquities circulated among US and Europe's prestigious ancient art galleries from 2012 until shortly after his arrest was announced publicly.  After which ARCA published a list of material it had identified as being linked to the suspect trafficker.  This compilation of suspect Egyptian antiquities was made public on 8 July 2020, and can be found here.

One of the more interesting high value pieces was this portrait head of a man, sold first through Christies New York in 2012 for $52,500.  Despite the trafficker's arrest in the US, this piece was still up for sale during the COVID-affected TEFAF Maastricht art fair in 2020, at the stand of Swiss dealer, Jean David Cahn.  Here the piece was called "a Portrait Head of the Emporer Severus Alexander" with a price on request. 


A second Eldarar piece was also present at TEFAF at Cahn's stand: a Double Life sized Ptolemaic Royal Portrait Possibly Ptolemy III Euergetes.   Again with a price on request.  As the fair closed early due to the world-wide pandemic, it is unclear if these pieces sold or remain with the Swiss dealer.

After ARCA's list of Eldarir identifications went public, practically all digital mention of Egyptian artefacts tied to this suspect in Europe and in the United States, began to be removed from receiving dealers' websites.  Dealers with web pages which once openly advertised Eldarir's antiquities sometimes removed the tainted objects altogether from their listings or modified the web page provenance using less damning indicators, such as replacing the background detail on ownership with innocuous phrases such as "private collector, New York" and omitting any of the previously fabricated details which led back to this suspect art market actor or his ties to princely collections.  

Eldarir’s case is one among many that highlight the persistent problems of artefact smuggling. For his role in these affairs, sentencing guidelines estimate that he could likely have to serve three to five years behind bars as well as possible denaturalisation, sending him back to the very country that he so prolifically robbed.

His sentencing date is currently scheduled for 12 June 2025.

The fate of many of the antiquities on our list remain unknown. 

By:  Lynda Albertson


February 8, 2025

Justice Served: Three Found Guilty in Major Art and Memorabilia Heist Case

On June 15, 2023, a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Pennsylvania indicted Nicholas Dombek, Damien Boland, Joseph Atsus and his brother Alfred Atsus for their alleged involvement in a widespread art and memorabilia theft ring that spanned over two decades and targeted 19 museums and other venues in six states and the District of Columbia.

The charges against the men included conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment or disposal of cultural artefacts, and interstate transportation of stolen property.  Each defendant also faced additional counts related to the theft and concealment of significant cultural objects, with Dombek receiving an extra charge for transporting stolen property across state lines.

The objects taken during the series of breakins included:

Those objects included:

A Christy Mathewson jersey and two contracts signed by Mathewson stolen in 1999 from Keystone College in Factoryville, Pennsylvania;

“Le Grande Passion” by Andy Warhol and “Springs Winter” by Jackson Pollock stolen in 2005 from the Everhart Museum, Scranton, Pennsylvania;

Nine (9) World Series rings, seven (7) other championship rings, and two (2) MVP plaques awarded to Yogi Berra, worth over $1,000,000 stolen in 2014 from the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center, Little Falls, New Jersey;

Six (6) championship belts, including four awarded to Carmen Basilio and two awarded to Tony Zale stolen in 2015 from the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Canastota, New York;

The Hickok Belt and MVP Trophy awarded to Roger Maris, stolen in 2016 from the Roger Maris Museum, Fargo, North Dakota;

The U.S. Amateur Trophy and a Hickok Belt awarded to Ben Hogan, stolen in 2012 from the USGA Golf Museum & Library, Liberty Corner, New Jersey;

Fourteen (14) trophies and other awards worth over $300,000 stolen in 2012 from the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Goshen, New York;

Five (5) trophies worth over $400,000, including the 1903 Belmont Stakes Trophy, stolen in 2013 from the National Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, Saratoga Springs, New York;

Eleven (11) trophies, including 4 awarded to Art Wall, Jr. stolen in 2011 from the Scranton Country Club, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania;

Three antique firearms worth a combined $1,000,000 stolen in 2006 from Space Farms: Zoo & Museum, Wantage, New Jersey;

An 1903/1904 Tiffany Lamp stolen in 2010 from the Lackawanna Historical Society, Scranton, Pennsylvania,

“Upper Hudson” by Jasper Cropsey, worth approximately $500,000, and two antique firearms worth over $300,000, stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor, Ringwood, New Jersey;

$400,000 worth of gold nuggets stolen in 2011 from the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, Ogdensburg, New Jersey;

Various gems, minerals, and other items stolen in 2017 from the Franklin Mineral Museum, Franklin, New Jersey;

An antique shotgun worth over $30,000 stolen in 2018 from Space Farms: Zoo & Museum, Wantage, New Jersey;

Various jewelry, and other items from multiple antique and jewelry stores in New York, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.

Last night, after three days of lengthy deliberation, a jury in Scranton, Pennsylvania (Lackawanna County) found:
Damien Boland, 48, of Moscow, guilty on all eleven charges;
Nicholas Dombek, 54, of Thornhurst Township, guilty of nine out of eleven charges; 
Joseph Atsus, 50, of Roaring Brook Township, guilty on four out of six charges.
Conversely, Joseph's brother, Alfred Atsus, 48, of Covington Township, was acquitted of all counts.

The prosecution's case relied heavily on the testimony of Thomas Trotta, 49, a former resident of Moscow, Pennsylvania, who law enforcement identified as the ringleader behind the theft operation.  Prior to pleading guilty, state police had used newly acquired DNA evidence to link Trotta to several burglaries which ultimately resulted in him cooperating with state police and the FBI, informing detectives of the extent and scope of the gang's activities.

During his testimony, Trotta spoke of the destruction of the memorbilia for its base metal price, despite the fact that the objects were symbols of legacy.  In providing detailed accounts of the thefts during the trial of his associates, Trotta's testimony highlighted how the group of museum thieves stole the nine World Series rings, trying them on before they set about prying the gemstones out of them, then melting them down, along with the metal on the plaques in his garage.   His cooperation, although controversial, was pivotal in securing the convictions. 

Unfortunately, as this one described incident details, many of the items stolen are not recoverable as the were converted into metal discs or bars which the theft ring then sold in New York for the raw metals. 

Despite this, the trial's outcome has been met with a sense of justice by the numerous law enforcement agencies who worked on this multi-state investigation, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the New York State Police, the New Jersey State Park Police, the Newport Police Department (Rhode Island), the Fargo Police Department (North Dakota), the Chester Police Department (New York), the Wyoming Regional Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Scranton Police Department, the Franklin Police Department (New Jersey), the Village of Goshen Police Department (New York), the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, D.C.), the West Milford Township Police Department (New Jersey), the Montclair Police Department (New Jersey), the Saratoga Springs Police Department (New York), the Canastota Police Department (New York), the South Abington Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Bernards Township Police Department (New Jersey), the Salisbury Township Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Montclair State University Police Department (New Jersey), the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office (Pennsylvania), the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office (New Jersey), the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (New Jersey), the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (New York), and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office (New York).  

While stolen memorabilia may not hold immense financial value, their historical and cultural significance still makes their loss irreplaceable.  Many of the objects targeted in ring's museum thefts, such as the championship belts, or award rings, carry deep personal and societal meaning, a value which cannot be calculated simply, and which transcends their monetary worth alone. These sports-related objects serve as tangible connections to the past, preserving the stories and achievements of their respective award winners, and these individual's importance within their communities. 

When stolen and melted down, these pieces of history are lost forever—depriving future generations of their educational and cultural importance. 

February 4, 2025

At a Glacial Pace: Why does the return of stolen art take years?

The Oracle at Delphi, 1881, by Camillo Miola

The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to you door
By The Beatles

Sometimes the road from diplomatic agreement to restitution or seizure to restitution is a long and windy road like the lyrics of a Beatles song.  And in the announcement and publication of victories, which flash across the news, the general public sees only the superficial details, carefully curated to neutralise all the hard fought passages that allowed "Object A" to be returned to "Country B".   

Such is the case with The Oracle at Delphi (1881) by Camillo Miola, a neoclassical painting depicting the ancient Greek sanctuary of Delphi, where the Pythia, a high priestess of Apollo, delivered prophecies. The artwork portrays a dramatic scene within the grand temple, with the Pythia seated on a tripod, enveloped in mystical vapors, as she channels divine messages. A group of supplicants, including warriors and noble figures, eagerly awaits her pronouncements, their expressions reflecting awe, anticipation, and reverence. 

On August 11, 2022, ahead of their agreed upon negotiations, The J. Paul Getty museum made a widespread public announcement that it would be returning a number of objects in their collection to Italy including:

Orpheus and the Sirens (inv. 76.AD.11) acquired in 1976 from Bank Leu in Zurich,

Colossal Head of a Divinity (inv. 72.AL.96) acquired in 1996 from scandalous UK art dealer Robin Symes,

an Etruscan bronze thymiaterion (inv. 96.AC.253) acquired in 1996 from the Fleischman collection, It was sold to the Fleischmans in 1987 by Italian art dealer Edoardo Almagià.  A while back New York Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, who heads the Manhattan Office's Antiquities Trafficking Unit was quoted in an interview with the Princeton Alumni Weekly, saying: 

“If Almagià is the first name on your provenance, it is stolen.” 

a Mold for Casting Pendants, (75.AA.35) about 2nd century CE, donated by collector Lawrence A. Fleischman and his wife;

and lastly, a rather fanciful oil painting entitled The Oracle at Delphi, 1881 by Camillo Miola (72.PA.32), a neoclassical painting depicting the ancient Greek sanctuary of Delphi, where the Pythia, a high priestess of Apollo, delivered prophecies.  

This artwork portrays a dramatic scene within the grand temple, with the Pythia seated on a tripod, enveloped in mystical vapours, as she channels divine messages. A group of supplicants, including warriors and noble figures, eagerly awaits her pronouncements, their expressions reflecting awe, anticipation, and reverence. Miola’s use of rich colours, classical architecture, and meticulous detail captures the spiritual intensity and grandeur of the sacred ritual, emphasising the oracle’s central role in guiding ancient Greek society.

In their announcement they stated that the impetus for the return of the Sculptural Group of a Seated Poet (Orpheus) and two Sirens is evidence presented to them of their looting.  Their announcement fails to make mention of the fact that the artefacts had been seized earlier pursuant to a court order and no other details were presented for the remaining pieces going home but as we know by the names of the dealers that circulated them, they propensity for being problematic was high. 

But what about the Miola painting nothing was stated as to why this artwork was coming home?

While Orpheus and his two friends came home in 2022, its taken two years and five months after the Getty's initial and somewhat lacking announcement, for Camillo Miola's painting to arrive back in Naples, along with the oil painting Portrait of Vittorio Emanuele III, 1902 by Achille Talarico.  

The paintings having just arrived and been presented at Palazzo Matteotti in Naples, by Gaetano Manfredi the Mayor of Naples and Gen. Div. Francesco Gargaro, the Commander of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage.  

But when and how long ago did this particular painting's story begin? And why is at that so many of these restitution announcements, which concretise agreements between museum parties and source country authorities such as the Carabinieri, or Italy or the USA's prosecutorial bodies, omit historical facts when it is exactly these historical facts which served as the evidence needed to persuade museums, or courts of justice that these artworks need to come home. 

We know that Miola's painting depicting Pythia was stolen from the San Lorenzo Institute of Aversa between 1943 and 1946.  But not much has been written in public records which elaborates upon its exit from Italy.  We know only that the painting left Italy at some point after the close of World War II arriving to America.  It was then consigned to Parke-Bernet in New York as coming from "a Private Collection", and sold on 24 February 1972 to Ira Spanierman, who operated the eponymous Spanierman Gallery (1961-2014).   He in turn sold it to the J. Paul Getty that same year.

According to the museum's accession record the provenance for this painting is:

By 1880 — Pinacoteca Provinciale (Naples, Italy)
until 1972 — Private Collection [sold, Parke-Bernet, New York, February 24, 1972, lot 273, to Ira Spanierman.]
since 1972 — Ira Spanierman (New York), sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1972. 

Open source records show us that following a meeting of Italy's Committee for the Recovery and Restitution of Cultural Heritage, chaired by Minister Alberto Bonisoli Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage formally asked the J. Getty Museum on 9 May 2019 to consider the country's claim for the Victorious Youth bronze (no progress there yet) and to also evaluate the provenance of four objects in the museum's collections that were also stolen or exported without permission from Italy. 

Those four objects were:  

Camillo Miola "The Oracle of Delphi" stolen from the San Lorenzo Institute in Aversa between 1943 and 1946; 

two marble lions from the Roman era that were in the Palazzo Spaventa in Preturo (Aquila) and 

a Mosaic with Medusa stolen from the National Roman Museum. 

This request was signed by the secretary general Panebianco and emphasised Italy's ministry's full willingness to keep alive the consolidated relations with the Getty,  blah blah blah, and considers cultural diplomacy a priority, blah blah blah, and stated that the writers would like to identify a suitable date for a meeting between the two parties to further discuss the Italian request for the restitution of The Victorious Youth, or the Athlete of Fano, the bronze statue that was fished out in 1964 in the waters of Fano in the Marche region and was subsequently illegally exported from Italy as determined by Italy's courts.

From the museum's side, the Getty replied that it would start their verification with the technical staff and that a response will be sent "as soon as possible"which, given the presentation of Miola's painting back in Italy has happened five and a half years later, and two years after the museum acknowledged that they were in agreement to relinquish the artwork, one has to marvel at the almost glacial pace of restitutions. 

And while ARCA is more than pleased that these artworks have actually come home through mutually beneficial agreements between museums and ministries and law enforcement officers and art researchers doing diligent work, we do wish there was a little more information than just somber, happy, formal, tight-lipped presentations stating these works are once again home. 

Transparency in restitution agreements between museums and source countries is crucial for ensuring accountability and ethical stewardship of cultural heritage. Not to mention it also builds public trust.  

Too often, repatriation deals are negotiated behind closed doors, with mutually agreed upon formal announcements which are carefully worded and often vague, leaving out key details about the provenance research, legal considerations, and the conditions of return.  All facts which could help us learn why one object makes it home and another doesn't. Or why certain objects are returned home quickly, while others take years after a restitution is announced, delaying justice for affected communities. 

This lack of openness can fuel skepticism, and invites speculation and negative interpretation, where the length of delays from announcement to homecoming can be misinterpreted foot dragging on the museum's part.    

By committing to clear, public disclosure of restitution decisions—detailing the origins of looted works, the justification for their return, the collaborative efforts between museum staff and source nations, and the complex mechanisms that often delay repatriation—museums can demonstrate a genuine commitment to ethical responsibility and cooperation. Transparency in these processes not only fosters trust but also ensures that institutions are seen as proactive stewards of cultural heritage rather than merely responding to external pressure.

Greater transparency would not only strengthen international cooperation—providing provenance researchers with valuable roadmaps from successful restitution cases—but also help rebuild public trust in museums as institutions committed to rightful ownership and historical justice. Rather than treating returns as mere footnotes with minimal explanation, museums should fully articulate the reasons behind their decisions, reinforcing their role as ethical stewards of cultural heritage.