An investigation is being conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and its media partners towards the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which allegedly acquired works from antique art trafficking.
Indeed, by examining the catalog of the American museum, the investigators discovered that 1,109 works were in dispute, reports the British newspaper partner of the ICIJ, “ Guardian “. These pieces of art would have belonged to people charged or convicted of offenses related to antiquities trafficking. 309 of them are currently exhibited in the museum.
An investigation opened two years ago
It all started in 2021, when the Facebook account “Lost Arts of Nepal” shared a post revealing the true story of a work acquired by the Met. The statue of Shreedhar Vishnu, initially placed at the entrance of a Nepalese temple, had been acquired fraudulently by the Met, after its theft ten years earlier. This case was notably confirmed and exposed by the “Guardian”. Displayed for thirty years, the statue has since been removed from the collections of the museum which indicated that it could be returned.
Following this affair and the proliferation of accusations, the authorities began their investigation. A year later, they seized 29 additional works. In total, after two years of research, the museum currently possesses 800 works acquired from Jonathan P. Rosen, many also purchased from Subhash Kapoor, and more formerly from Robert E. Hecht, all convicted of trafficking in works of art . The investigation is continuing.
