Latest news with #RobinSymes
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Stolen artifacts returned to Egypt, Pakistan from Manhattan
Fifty priceless artifacts looted from Egypt and Pakistan — and trafficked through Manhattan by two notorious antiquities dealers — have been returned to their home countries, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has announced. The repatriation of the artifacts, some of which are as old as 3300 BCE, is the result of two separate investigations into criminal trafficking networks linked to the convicted traffickers Robin Symes and Subhash Kapoor, respectively. Symes, who died in 2023, was one of the most notorious antiquities smugglers in the last century. Kapoor, 76, was convicted of running a $100 million international smuggling racket, including stealing 19 ancient idols and illegally transferring them to his art gallery in Manhattan. In total, 11 artifacts were returned to Egypt and 39 to Pakistan. Among the artifacts returned were a 'mummy mask of a youth,' a funerary mask dating to the Roman rule of Egypt, around 100-300 CE, one of the 'Fayum Portraits' famous for their realism and modernity. A terracotta vessel with painted red, black and blue fish — dating to between 3300 and 1300 BCE — seized from a Manhattan dealer in 2025 has been returned to Pakistan. Since its creation in 2017, the Antiquities Trafficking Unit has convicted 17 individuals of cultural property-related crimes, recovered more than 6,000 antiquities valued at more than $470 million, and has returned more than 5,500 of them so far to 30 countries, according to the DA's office.
Shafaq News
23-05-2025
- Shafaq News
Stolen artifacts head home: Met repatriates Iraqi art
Shafaq News/ The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently announced that it will return three ancient sculptures to Iraq, dating from 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE. They are estimated to be collectively worth $500,000. The items are a Sumerian vessel made of gypsum alabaster (ca. 2600–2500 BCE) and two Babylonian terracotta sculptures (ca. 2000-1600 BCE) depicting a male head and a female head, respectively. The museum said it was making the return in 'cooperation with the Manhattan DA's office,' and that the return had come after the Met had 'received new information' amid the investigation into Robin Symes, a dealer accused of being a member of a network that traded in looted artifacts. A press release from the DA's Office said that the Symes investigation has resulted in the seizure of 135 antiquities valued at more than $58 million. The release also noted that two of the items were seized by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU) earlier this year. The two Babylonian ceramic sculptures are thought to be from Isin, an archaeological site in Iraq, and were looted in the late 1960s. The Manhattan DA's office noted that Head of a male was then smuggled out of Iraq and was in Symes's possession in London by 1971. The next year, Symes sold the sculpture to the Met; it remained in the institution's collection until it was seized by the ATU. Vessel supported by two rams was first offered to the Met in 1956 by Switzerland-based antiquities dealer-trafficker Nicolas Koutoulakis, 'who informed the museum that the Vessel had been found at a site near the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur. The Vessel then passed through multiple private collectors and dealers, including Symes, before permanently entering The Met's collection in 1989,' according to the Manhattan DA's office. The museum's press release said the vessel was gifted to the museum in 1989 by the Norbert Schimmel Trust, named after a longtime trustee who died in 1990. The museum noted that 'it appeared on the Baghdad art market, was purchased by Swiss dealer Nicolas Koutoulakis by 1956 and later acquired by Cecile de Rothschild.' 'The Met is committed to the responsible collecting of art and the shared stewardship of the world's cultural heritage and has made significant investments in accelerating the proactive research of our collection,' Max Hollein, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's director and CEO, said in a press statement. 'The Museum is grateful for our ongoing conversations with Iraq regarding future collaborative endeavors, and we look forward to working together to advance our shared dedication to fostering knowledge and appreciation of Iraqi art and culture.' 'We continue to recover and return antiquities that were trafficked by Robin Symes,' District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. said in a press statement. 'That is a testament to the hard work of attorneys, analysts and investigators who are committed to undoing the significant damage traffickers have caused to our worldwide cultural heritage.' H. E. Nazar Al Khirullah, Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the US, described the leadership of the ATU as 'instrumental' in the recovery of his country's looted heritage. 'We also appreciate our strong and ongoing partnership with The Met, whose commitment to cultural preservation complements our shared mission to safeguard the world's antiquities,' he said in a press statement. Symes's legacy of trafficking antiquities includes 351 antiquities returned to Greece after a 17-year legal battle, two antiquities worth $1.26 million returned to Libya, 750 artifacts recovered by Italy, a limestone elephant returned to Iraq, and an alabaster female figure returned to Yemen, all in 2023. Symes was convicted of contempt of court for lying about antiquities he held in storage locations around the world in 2005. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but only served seven months. He died in 2023.
The National
22-05-2025
- The National
Once smuggled, now reclaimed: Iraq retrieves ancient artefacts from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art
For decades, three prized items told stories of ancient Mesopotamia from behind museum glass in foreign lands. Now, they are heading home to Iraq as part of a global push to retrieve antiquities that were looted and sold around the world over the centuries. The Iraqi embassy in Washington announced it has recovered three rare artefacts dating back to the Sumer and Babylonian civilisations millennia ago. It hailed the transfer from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art as a 'new milestone in the country's ongoing diplomatic efforts to protect its cultural heritage'. Museum officials say the artefacts include a Sumerian container, depicting two rams, that is made of gypsum alabaster, a type of mineral and soft rock. The other items are Babylonian ceramic sculptures of the heads of a man and a woman. They date from the third to second millennium BC, a museum statement said. The two rams sculpture originates from between 2600 BC and 2500 BC, while the carving of the woman's head dates from 2000 BC to 1600 BC. Both were given to the museum in 1989 by the Norbert Schimmel Trust. The head of the male, dating back to around 2000 BC to 1600 BC, was bought by the museum in 1972. The male head and container with rams were previously sold by notorious British antiquities dealer Robin Symes, who in 2016 was accused by Italian authorities of being involved in an international criminal network trading in looted archaeological treasures. He died in October 2023. Both the heads are thought to be from Isin, an archaeological site in southern Iraq, while the ram sculpture is not known to be associated with a particular area. The latter appeared on the Baghdad art market and was bought by Swiss dealer Nicolas Koutoulakis in 1956 before being acquired by Cecile de Rothschild. The return to Iraq is part of the Met museum's Cultural Property Initiative which was launched in 2023 and includes a review of works in its collection. Several artefacts have been returned to their places of origin in various countries since. 'The Met is committed to the responsible collecting of art and the shared stewardship of the world's cultural heritage and has made significant investments in accelerating the proactive research of our collection,' said Max Hollein, museum director and chief executive. 'The museum is grateful for our ongoing conversations with Iraq regarding future collaborative endeavours, and we look forward to working together to advance our shared dedication to fostering knowledge and appreciation of Iraqi art and culture." The Iraqi embassy said the return of the artefacts "is seen as a contribution to safeguarding Iraq's historical memory and a reflection of both Iraqi and global pride in this unique human heritage". Decades of war, instability, lack of security and mismanagement have taken their toll on Iraq's heritage, art and culture. After the 1991 Gulf War, when a US-led international coalition repelled Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and the UN imposed economic sanctions, illegal archaeological digs became widespread, mainly in remote areas that troops were unable to secure. With the fall of Baghdad during a similar invasion that ended Saddam's regime in 2003, looters broke into the Iraqi National Museum and made off with priceless artefacts, only a few thousand of which have been recovered. Looters continue to dig at unprotected archaeological sites in Iraq, leading to hundreds of artefacts showing up on the worldwide market. But with the help of the international community, Iraq has managed to retrieve thousands of items of stolen heritage from around the world in recent years, mainly from the US.
Iraqi News
21-05-2025
- Iraqi News
Iraq recovers 3 artifacts from New York
Baghdad ( – The Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC, has successfully retrieved three rare items from New York that had been confiscated by Manhattan's district attorney's antiquities trafficking unit. The Metropolitan Museum of Art revealed on Monday that it is returning three artifacts to Iraq. The three pieces are a Sumerian vessel made of gypsum alabaster and two Babylonian ceramic sculptures depicting the heads of a male and a female. The artifacts date from the third to the second millennium BCE. The return of the objects comes after the Metropolitan Museum of Art launched its Cultural Property Initiative, which includes a thorough evaluation of its collection. In 2024, the museum began the repatriation of a third-millennium BCE Sumerian sculpture to Iraq after an origin study by museum academics determined that the art perfectly belongs to Iraq. The vessel and the head of a female were gifted to the museum in 1989 by the Norbert Schimmel Trust, a prominent collector of ancient art and antiquities, and the head of a male was purchased by the museum in 1972. The sculptures of a male and a female are likely to be from the archeological site of Isin in Iraq, while the vessel is not known to be related to a specific location in Iraq; it initially showed up on the Baghdad art market in 1956 and was purchased by a Swiss dealer. Following the museum's collaboration with the Manhattan District Attorney's office and as a consequence of its investigation into Robin Symes, the museum recently obtained fresh information indicating that the pieces should be repatriated, resulting in a positive settlement.
Arab News
20-05-2025
- Arab News
Met returns looted Mesopotamian artifacts to Iraq after investigation
DUBAI: Three ancient Mesopotamian artifacts once housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have been returned to Iraq after an investigation into art trafficking linked to the late British antiquities dealer Robin Symes, authorities announced on Monday. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ The return was confirmed in statements by the Met and the Manhattan district attorney's office, which led the criminal investigation. The artifacts — a Sumerian gypsum vessel from about 2600-2500 BC and two Babylonian ceramic heads dated about 2000-1600 BC — were among 135 looted antiquities linked to Symes and seized earlier this year. According to The New York Times, the male head sculpture was sold to the Met by Symes in 1972, while the female head and the Sumerian vessel were gifts from a private collection in 1989. All three are believed to have originated from ancient Mesopotamian sites, including Isin and Ur, now in modern-day Iraq. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. said the seizure and return are part of broader efforts to undo the 'significant damage traffickers have caused to our worldwide cultural heritage.' The repatriation was formalized in a ceremony in Lower Manhattan attended by Iraqi officials and Met representatives. The museum said that it had acted upon 'new information' received through the DA's investigation that clarified the artifacts' illicit provenance. Authorities estimate the value of the 135 items trafficked through Symes and recovered in New York at $58 million.
