With New Seizures, Value of the Met's Looted Artifacts Tops $95 Million

The value of looted artifacts recovered from the Metropolitan Museum of Art has surpassed $95 million after new seizures by Manhattan prosecutors, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said. Investigators seized dozens of ancient artifacts from the Met in recent actions aimed at returning antiquities to Italy, Turkey, Egypt and other countries believed to have been the source of looting. Since 2017, more than 120 artifacts have been seized from the museum, with values ranging from $20,000 to $26 million, plus hundreds of smaller items. The office’s inventory places the total at more than $95 million, including objects on loan. Among the June removals were a 3,700-year-old Greek jug, a marble head, a 2,000-year-old bronze Hermes statuette from Turkey, and an ancient Egyptian golden headpiece. The Met said the returns followed a collaborative process with a newly expanded provenance team.