Pictured: “Bearded Head of a Man”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the return of 14 antiquities to the people of Türkiye, collectively valued at more than $8.3 million. The antiquities were recovered pursuant to several ongoing investigations, including into a trafficking network that systemically looted the ancient city of Bubon and trafficked those pieces into Manhattan. Pieces were also seized pursuant to an investigation into RICHARD BEALE, a trafficker who was convicted by the Office in August 2023 of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property and Conspiracy. The 14 pieces were returned at a ceremony with Gokhan Yazgı, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye; Muhittin Ahmet Yazal, Consul General, Consulate General of the Republic of Türkiye in New York; and Kevin O’Malley, Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York.
“Ancient sites in Türkiye have seen significant looting and we are continuing to investigate and track down pieces stolen from Bubon. I thank HSI for their continued partnership and to our team of prosecutors and analysts for their work to ensure these 14 antiquities can return to where they rightfully belong,” said District Attorney Bragg.
Gokhan Yazgı, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye, said, “Türkiye considers the protection of cultural property and the prevention of illicit trafficking a top priority. Our authorities regularly engage in awareness-raising and capacity-building activities, and we have been vocal on the international stage regarding our strong stance against this serious crime. However, this fight cannot be won alone—it also requires strong cooperation. We extend our gratitude to MDA and HSI for their relentless efforts in helping to right these wrongs. Owing to the investigations conducted by MDA and HSI, and supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye, the cultural property that was illegally removed from Türkiye is finally coming back to its rightful home. This fills us with hope for the future, as we continue together in the fight to protect cultural heritage.”
“The 14 artifacts repatriated today date back before the turn of the century and are collectively worth millions of dollars. However, each piece is truly considered priceless to the civilizations and people robbed of their ability to cherish their significance,” said HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Darren B. McCormack. “Today, we proudly stand alongside our global and law enforcement partners once again, sending a message to antiquities traffickers and their willful co-conspirators: No piece of history will be forgotten. HSI New York’s Cultural Property, Art, and Antiquities group will relentlessly pursue those who place their greed above the sanctity of a people’s heritage.”
Bubon is home to an archaeological site that includes a Sebasteion – a shrine dedicated to the veneration of Roman emperors – and the city was subject to significant looting during the 1960’s. Three of the pieces being returned today were stolen by the Bubon Trafficking Network, which has laundered looted antiquities from the ancient city through cultural institutions in Manhattan and throughout the United States. Those pieces include:
- Bearded Head of a Man, dating to the 3rd century C.E., was looted from Bubon in 1966 and smuggled out by Turkish traffickers for Robert Hecht. The Bearded Head of a Man was ultimately sold by New York-based dealer Matthias Komor to a private collector, who donated the piece to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, where it was seized by the ATU.
- Head of a Youth, dating to the late 2-3rd century C.E., was looted from Bubon in 1969 and smuggled out by Turkish traffickers into Switzerland. The piece underwent restoration in Switzerland, prior to being purchased by the Getty Museum from Swiss-based dealer Nicholas Koutoulakis in 1971. The Head of the Youth remained on display at the Getty until it was seized by the ATU.
Pictured: “Head of a Youth”
Other pieces include:
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- Quintus Labienus coin, dating to circa 40 B.C.E., features the profile of Quintus Labienus, a decorated Roman general who struck an alliance with the assassins of Julius Caesar. Fighting alongside Pompey, Cassius, and Brutus, Quintus Labienus minted these coins to pay his troops. After his execution in 39 B.C.E., many such coins were melted. The Quintus Labienus Coin was looted in Türkiye, smuggled out of Türkiye to Germany, transported to the Netherlands and ultimately the United Kingdom, where it was laundered by BEALE through his auction house Roma Numismatics.
Pictured: “Quintus Labienus Coin”
During District Attorney Bragg’s tenure, the ATU has recovered almost 2,100 antiquities stolen from more than 30 countries and valued at more than $230 million. Since its creation, the ATU has convicted 16 defendants for cultural property trafficking offenses, filed extraditions for 6 others, recovered more than 5,700 antiquities valued at more than $450 million, and returned more than 4,600 to more than 25 countries, with another 1,000 scheduled to be repatriated in the coming months.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, Chief of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit and Senior Trial Counsel, supervised the investigations, which were conducted by Assistant District Attorneys James Edwards-Lebair, Taylor Holland, Yuval Simchi-Levi, and Edward Smith; Supervising Investigative Analyst Apsara Iyer; Investigative Analysts Charlotte Looram and Grace Vieaux; District Attorney Investigative Consultant John Paul Labbat; and Special Agents Robert Mancene, Robert Fromkin, and Brenton Easter of Homeland Security Investigations. Investigative support by Zeynep Boz (Head of the Combatting Illicit Trafficking Department) at Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The District Attorney’s Office would like to also thank the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Dr. Michael Taylor and Karen Daly of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for their assistance and cooperation with our investigations.
Pictured: “Quintus Labienus Coin”