D.A. Bragg announces Return of Fifty-Nine Antiquities to Italy, Iraq and Indonesia

“This return of nearly 60 pieces to countries around the globe represent the breadth of our investigative work, and I thank our team and partners in all three countries for their partnership to send these antiquities home,” said District Attorney Bragg.

The Office repatriated forty-eight antiquities collectively valued at more than $300,000 to Italy, 45 of which were seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (“Met”). The statues were recovered pursuant to multiple criminal investigations into trafficking networks and acquired by the Met from Robert Hecht, Jonathan Rosen, and Fritz Burki. The pieces were repatriated at a ceremony with Giuseppe Pastorelli, Consul General of Italy in New York, and with Brigadier General Antonio Petti, Commander of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage.

“Today’s repatriation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office stands as a tangible symbol of the fruitful, long-standing collaboration with the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. I express my heartfelt gratitude to Matthew Bogdanos and his entire team for their constant, daily commitment to healing the wounds inflicted upon our historical heritage and national identity,” said Brigadier General Petti.”

Two of the objects returned today include:

• A Terracotta psykter-column-krater, attributed to the famed Troilos Painter and dated to 480–470 B.C.E., was smuggled out of Italy by Fritz Burki, restored by Sandro Cimicchi, and consigned for sale at Christie’s London. The Terracotta psykter-column-krater remained at the Met until it was seized by this Office earlier this year.
• A Marble Fish Plate, originating from Magna Graecia and dated to approximately 400 B.C.E., is part of a distinctive class of vessels that first appeared on the Greek mainland before rapidly proliferating throughout the Greek colonies of southern Italy. The plate was sold by Robert Hecht in 1984 and remained at the Met until it was seized by this Office earlier this year.

The Office repatriated nine antiquities to Iraq collectively valued at nearly $300,000. These works of art were repatriated by this Office at a ceremony with Dr. Duraid Abbas, Deputy Chief of Mission of Iraq to the United States.

“The return of these invaluable Iraqi antiquities reflects the strength of the partnership between the Republic of Iraq and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in protecting our shared cultural heritage. We extend our sincere appreciation particularly to Matthew Bogdanos and his dedicated team, for their exceptional professionalism, unwavering commitment, and tireless efforts in investigating illicit antiquities trafficking and facilitating the return of these priceless cultural treasures to Iraq. Their continued cooperation has played a vital role in preserving an important part of Iraq’s history and the heritage of humanity,” said Deputy Chief of Mission Dr. Duraid Abbas.

Two of the cultural treasures repatriated today were:

• A Sumerian Gypsum Male Worshipper and the Sumerian Gypsum Female Worshipper, dating to Iraq’s Early Dynastic II Period, approximately 2750-2600 B.C.E., are among the earliest known sculptural depictions of the human figure in the round. Both sculptures first appeared on the market in 2015 after Ariadne Galleries sold them as part of the “Rihani Family Collection.”Thereafter, this Office seized and repatriated eleven antiquities smuggled by Hassan Rihani from Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Syria. Earlier this year, an auction house offered both statues for sale, changing the provenance to “R. Family Collection.”Nonetheless, this Office identified both statues as stolen and received a warrant for their seizure in June 2026.

Finally announced today were the repatriation to the people of Indonesia two carefully preserved and venerated human skulls from the Dayak people of Borneo, collectively valued at approximately $15,000. These were repatriated by this Office at a ceremony with Winanto Adi, Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in New York.

“Today, we are honored to witness yet another chapter in this remarkable partnership with the return of Indonesian cultural treasures. The continuity of this cooperation reflects something far greater than the return of valuable objects. It reflects the trust, mutual respect, and shared values that have long characterized the friendship between Indonesia and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. It is particularly meaningful that this handover of Indonesian Cultural Objects takes place during the year in which the United States commemorates the 250th Anniversary of its Independence. As Americans celebrate their nation’s remarkable history and enduring ideals, today’s ceremony also reminds us that every nation treasures the objects that tell the story of its civilization. Preserving cultural heritage is, in many ways, preserving the identity, dignity, and collective memory of a people,” said Consul General Adi.

• These sacred objects repatriated today are viewed as sacred heirlooms, guardians of the community, and physical links to ancestral power. Treated with profound spiritual respect by the people of Indonesia, these skulls are part of the existing collection of ancestral and wartime relics honored through specific traditional practices. Smuggled out of Indonesia, they were seized by this Office in 2024.

This Office’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit has now convicted 18 individuals of cultural-property-related crimes; recovered almost 6,400 cultural treasures, including rare books, works of art, and antiquities, valued at more than $490 million; and returned more than 6,000 of those so far to 38 countries. The extradition of another 7 alleged traffickers is pending.