All articles tagged with #antiquities
The Netherlands announced it will return a 3,500-year-old sculpture to Egypt after it was illegally obtained and confiscated in 2022, coinciding with Egypt's grand opening of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which aims to boost tourism and showcase Egypt's ancient history.
Egypt inaugurated the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza pyramids after two decades of construction, showcasing a vast collection of antiquities including treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb, aiming to boost tourism and cultural pride.
A hiker in Israel discovered a rare 2,800-year-old amulet in the Tabor Stream Nature Reserve in Lower Galilee. The amulet, made of carnelian, depicts a mythical griffin creature or a galloping winged horse and is believed to date back to the 8th century B.C. The discovery is considered one of the most important finds at the Biblical mound and archaeological site of Tel Rekhesh, possibly confirming the presence of Assyrian or Babylonian administration at the site.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Metropolitan Museum of Art have reached an agreement to return 13 Khmer antiquities to Cambodia. The pieces, linked to the illicit trafficking network of collector and dealer Douglas Latchford, are being voluntarily returned by the Met. The U.S. Attorney's Office and Homeland Security Investigations have been actively investigating and repatriating stolen Cambodian antiquities since 2012. The statues being returned include a 10th-century goddess sandstone statue from the Koh Ker archaeological site and a 7th-century head of Buddha.
The family of late American billionaire George Lindemann has agreed to return 33 looted artifacts to Cambodia, including statues from the ancient capital of the Khmer kingdom and the Angkor Wat temple. Cambodia has been pursuing the return of its looted antiquities, some of which are believed to be on display in American museums. The artifacts held by the Lindemann family are expected to be repatriated later this year. The decision has been hailed as a significant step and an example for other museums and private collectors. US authorities have repatriated a total of 65 artifacts from Cambodia so far.
Manhattan prosecutors have seized a second-century Roman bust from a Massachusetts art museum as part of their investigation into the smuggling of antiquities from Turkey.
A bronze bust believed to depict the daughter of an ancient Roman emperor has been seized from a Massachusetts art museum by New York authorities investigating antiquities stolen from Turkey. The bust, known as "Portrait of a Lady," was acquired by the Worcester Art Museum in 1966. It is believed to date from A.D. 160 to 180 and is thought to portray a daughter of Marcus Aurelius or another Roman emperor, Septimius Severus. The seizure is part of an ongoing investigation into a smuggling network involving looted objects from Turkey.
Italy has welcomed the return of 266 looted antiquities from the United States, including Etruscan vases and ancient Roman coins and mosaics worth millions of euros. The items were seized from a storage unit belonging to British antiquities dealer Robin Symes in New York. The collection also includes objects that were offered to Houston's Menil Collection but declined. The owner of the collection voluntarily returned the items after investigators determined they were obtained through clandestine excavations. Italy has been actively pursuing the recovery of looted antiquities, which were sold to private collectors and museums.
Italy has received the return of 266 looted antiquities from the United States, including Etruscan vases and ancient Roman coins and mosaics worth tens of millions of euros. The items were seized from a storage unit belonging to British antiquities dealer Robin Symes in New York. The haul also included objects offered to Houston's Menil Collection but declined. The owner of the collection voluntarily returned the items after investigators determined they were from clandestine excavations. Italy has been actively pursuing the recovery of looted antiquities, which were sold to private collectors and museums.
Ancient artefacts, including ceramic oil lamps from Israel's national treasures collection, sent to the US for a White House event in 2019 have ended up at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The oil lamps were not displayed due to concerns they may have been taken from the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Efforts by Israeli officials to retrieve the treasures have so far failed, and it is unclear how they ended up at Mar-a-Lago or if Trump is aware of their presence. The Israel Antiquities Authority has sought help from various officials but without success.
Italy has displayed 750 antiquities worth $12.79 million that were recovered from a London antiquities dealer. The items, which date from the 8th century B.C. and the medieval period, were illegally excavated from Italy and then exported and sold around the world. The objects were in the possession of a London company in liquidation, Symes Ltd, owned by dealer Robin Symes. The items were returned to Italy on the same day an agreement was signed between Symes and Greece to return other looted items.
The sarcophagus of Ramses II, the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, has been unveiled in Paris as part of an exhibition that will run from April 7 to September 6. The coffin is on loan from Egypt and is being displayed in recognition of the assistance from French scientists who helped save the mummy from decay following a previous visit to Paris in 1976. The exhibition also features more than 180 objects from the period, including a 3D recreation of one of the king's battles against the Hittite empire.
Sotheby's is set to auction the Codex Sassoon, a nearly complete 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible, for an estimated $30 million to $50 million in May. The manuscript contains almost the entirety of the Hebrew Bible and is one of the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts. Scholars say it doesn't match the pedigree and quality of its contemporary, the Aleppo Codex, but it's still considered rare and significant. The Codex Sassoon's margins contain an annotation from a later scholar who says he checked its text against the Aleppo Codex. If the target price is realized, it could break the record for the priciest historical document ever sold at public auction.
Sotheby's is set to auction the Codex Sassoon, a nearly complete 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible, for an estimated $30 million to $50 million in May. The manuscript contains almost the entirety of the Hebrew Bible and is one of the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts. Scholars say the Codex Sassoon doesn't match the pedigree and quality of its contemporary, the Aleppo Codex, but it is still considered rare and significant. The Codex Sassoon's margins contain an annotation from a later scholar who says he checked its text against the Aleppo Codex. If the target price is realized, the Codex Sassoon could break the record for the priciest historical document ever sold at public auction.