Looted art

Two looted antiquities seized in New York will be returned to Iraq

The figurines, which were looted from the ancient city of Uruk, belong to one of the oldest civilisations on earth

France's long-awaited restitution policy is finally here

Guidelines for returning objects looted from former colonies and during the Nazi period are laid out in a report commissioned by Emmanuel Macron and written by former Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez

Germans falter on Benin bronzes’ return to Nigeria

Doubts surface in media over Nigeria’s museum infrastructure

More than 1,000 objects in the Met’s collection linked to alleged traffickers and looters, investigation finds

A new report claims New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has many items in its collection with major provenance issues

Smithsonian to display 77 looted artefacts from Yemen in shared stewardship agreement

The artefacts will go on view at the National Museum of Asian Art, rather than be returned to Yemen, due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis there

Artefacts in Swiss museums were looted from the Kingdom of Benin, new report says

Many of the works investigated show a direct link to the violent 1897 raid by British forces, and may lead to the transfer of objects to Nigeria

Authorities in New York return 14 looted artefacts valued at $2.5m to Italy, including a black-figure hydria by the renowned Priam Painter

The repatriated artefacts were looted by an international network of “high-profile antiquities traffickers and smugglers, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office

Virgin Mary and Christ diptych, stolen during Second World War, returned to Poland

The paintings, from the workshop of the Flemish master Dieric Bouts, were transferred from the Museo Provincial de Pontevedra in Spain to Gołuchów Castle

Looted archaeological artefacts worth more than $20m returned to Italy

The 60 objects included some that had been on display at the Metropolitan Museum and several that had been bought by billionaire collector Michael Steinhardt

US government returns looted sarcophagus to Egypt

A trafficked coffin that may have belonged to an ancient priest has been returned

Cologne museum to transfer 92-strong Benin bronze collection back to Nigeria

The Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum is the latest Western institution to return its collection of artefacts looted from Nigeria in the late-19th century

Crime news

Police recover bulk of objects stolen in audacious £100m art heist from Dresden museum

Announcement was made during the trial of six men which began in January and is due to resume this week

Looted antiquities returned to Turkey and Italy were seized from New York home of Met trustee Shelby White

An ongoing investigation into White's collection expects to see more objects repatriated in the future

National Museum of Scotland to repatriate looted totem pole

The museum will transfer the totem pole to the Nisga’a Nation of British Columbia

Paris gallerists—found guilty of selling Picasso works stolen by handyman—receive suspended jail sentences

Belle et Belle gallery has now been dissolved, closing the chapter on a decade-long criminal investigation

Benin bronzes online database goes live with details of thousands of looted artefacts

"Digital Benin" catalogue gathers together information on objects stolen from the Kingdom of Benin and now held in collections around the world

Disgraced antiquities dealer Subhash Kapoor sentenced to ten years in prison by Indian court

The ruling culminates an extensive investigation into a smuggling ring headed by Kapoor

US court dismisses Nazi-era Guelph Treasure restitution claim

The heirs of Jewish dealers, who allegedly sold the medieval collection to the Prussian government under duress due to Nazi persecution, may appeal the ruling

Greek artefacts from American billionaire's collection will be returned pending exchange agreement

The artefacts could be exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before traveling to Athens

The Metropolitan Museum returns two looted artefacts to Nepal

The two works, given to the museum in the 1990s, were looted from temples in Kathmandu according to recent internal provenance research

Looted Maya frieze once offered to the Metropolitan Museum will be fully restored

The elaborate temple relief, now held by the Museo Nacional de Antropología, was extracted from the Maya jungle in the 1960s and offered to the Met for $400,000

Egyptian antiquities connected to international trafficking ring seized from Metropolitan Museum in New York

Five objects worth more than €3m have been confiscated by authorities as part of a wide-ranging global investigation involving former Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez

The hunt for looted Cambodian objects—are they hidden in the West's museums?

Plus, the dark truth of the Marcos family’s extravagance and Ruth Asawa at Modern Art Oxford

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Cambodia urges UK museums to investigate and return looted treasures allegedly handled by dealer Douglas Latchford

British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum now under scrutiny of Cambodian government

Saving Ukraine’s heritage: an eyewitness account of relief efforts

Plus, the Cezanne blockbuster at The Art Institute of Chicago and Nicola L.’s Gold Femme Commode at Alison Jacques

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Looted Roman bust, bought from Texas secondhand store for $34.99, will be returned to Germany

The first-century marble sculpture, likely stolen by an Allied soldier during the Second World War, will go on view at the San Antonio Museum of Art before being repatriated to Bavaria

Dealer suspected of selling looted antiquities to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Louvre Abu Dhabi detained in Paris

The Hamburg-based dealer Roben Dib was arrested in Paris last week. His lawyers say he will "fully cooperate with the investigation"

Two lots withdrawn from Christie’s antiquities sale after possible ties emerge to dealers known to traffic in illicit artefacts

The artefacts were flagged by Christos Tsiogiannis, who has, since 2006, been identifying looted antiquities through photographic archives of suspected and convicted dealers in plunder

Billionaire collector Michael Steinhardt surrenders 180 stolen artefacts worth $70m

The items have been under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney since 2017