U.S. Repatriates Stolen Artifacts to Turkey, Featuring a Disputed Bronze Sculpture
In a significant move, the United States has returned several stolen artifacts to Turkey, including a long-disputed bronze statue that has been at the heart of a legal battle. This milestone was officiated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg during a ceremony that underscored ongoing efforts to restore eight large sculptures illegally taken from Bubon, Turkey, six decades ago.
The centerpiece of this repatriation is a 2,000-year-old Roman sculpture that was ceremoniously handed back to Turkish officials. This transfer followed a protracted legal confrontation involving two lawsuits, an arrest warrant, and a two-year struggle. The story traces back to the 1960s when villagers discovered a collection of sculptures in the ancient Roman city of Lycia, now known as Bubon. They sold these artifacts to American buyers, bypassing Turkish legal requirements for sale permits.
In 2023, Bragg’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit intensified its crackdown on Bubon artifacts, which had been smuggled into the U.S. via a New York-based operation. Suspicious sculptures were first seized from Fordham University’s Museum of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan Art and the Worcester Art Museum in March. Later, a sculpture believed to represent an unidentified “philosopher” was confiscated from the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The case involving Aaron Mendelsohn, a Santa Monica collector who acquired a headless bronze statue for $1.33 million from Royal-Athena Galleries, became a focal point. In late 2023, Mendelsohn was informed by the D.A.’s office that his sculpture was thought to be one of the looted Bubon pieces. Although Mendelsohn was willing to return the statue if its illicit origins were proven, he initiated a lawsuit against the D.A., arguing that criminal methods were being used to pressure him and that the office lacked jurisdiction in California.
Despite these claims, the D.A. contended it had the right to seize the artwork due to the trafficking ring’s New York roots. The Cleveland Museum of Art capitulated in February, acknowledging the looted nature of its sculpture. Mendelsohn’s lawsuit was dismissed in March, but he eventually surrendered the statue and paid for its transfer back to New York, leading to his exoneration from all charges. His legal representative, Marcus Asner, chose not to comment.
The recent ceremony at the D.A.’s office also marked the return of numerous other Turkish relics, including a 2nd-century marble head of the Greek orator Demosthenes, retrieved from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Virginia Museum of Fine Art voluntarily returned their artifacts amidst similar repatriation challenges. In a related event, the Met hosted a separate gathering to return a 13th-century Byzantine capital adorned with a bust of Archangel Michael, which Turkey permitted to remain on display for a limited time, marking a rare loan to the Met from Turkey in twenty years.
Meanwhile, the Manhattan D.A. continues to investigate the whereabouts of the remaining Bubon sculptures across the United States.
