Italy (Washington Insider Magazine) -Nearly $10 million worth of antiquities are being returned to their rightful place in Italy. Some of these pieces, 200 in total, were stolen and smuggled out of Italy as early as the 1980s. Over the past 4 decades the artifacts have been sold to private collectors, museums, and even auction houses. Half were found at New York’s Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art, while others became dispersed over Hollywood and New York thanks to art vendors and personal art advisors. Even Kim Kardashian West nearly fell victim, and ended up in possession of an ancient Roman sculpture.
This is hailed as the single largest repatriation of relics from the United States to Italy. While this is well-deserved and an effort to preserve the original ownership of the pieces, many specialists and art enthusiasts alike are left with unanswered questions. What brought such shipments of ancient relics to the United States and abroad…and why?
A large majority of the artifacts are thought to be linked to Edoardo Almagia, An Italian antiques dealer who lived in New York until 2003. Although he was investigated for smuggling and selling stolen artifacts, the statute of limitations for the crimes he has committed means he will not face criminal charges.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance stated that 150 of the artifacts were found to be related to his investigation of Edoardo Almagia. More than 70 antiquities have been returned to 14 different countries since August of 2020 due to the efforts of the New York District Attorney’s Office. The office has also returned 30 relics to Cambodia, 100 to Pakistan, and almost 250 artifacts to India.
US art collector and billionaire philanthropist Michael Steinhardt decided to return 180 works of art and relics stolen from around the world, further reinforcing the global commitment to protection of the art. The collection included some pieces from ancient Greece that are estimated to be worth more than $70 million.
For the time being, this global movement has allowed the 80 year old man to avoid trial and indictment but bans him for life from acquiring antiques legally.
Since Italy established its cultural heritage protection squad in 1969, it has retrieved more than 3 million stolen artifacts. Most recently the squad recovered over 2,000 relics from places like Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
The chief of the squad said has been quoted stating just how impactul this theft is to Italian understanding of heritage and culture. What’s worse is the threat that these thefts cause, as others who have the art may put the relics in an incomplete or inaccurate context – cheapening the overall work.
The ceremony for the return of the artifacts to Italy was attended by B. Gen. Roberto Riccardi, who is the chief of the TBC cultural heritage unit of the Carabinieri.
Riccardi flew in to take possession of the artifacts and took back 160 of the artifacts tomorrow while the other 40 are on display at the exhibition at the Italian consulate in New York until March.
