Pictured: “Bronze Statuette of Hermes”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the return of 147 antiquities totaling nearly $2.4 million to the people of Türkiye, Pakistan, and Thailand.

“The breadth of these repatriations is a reminder of the global scope of antiquities trafficking,” said District Attorney Bragg. “None of this would be possible without the extraordinary investigative work of our team, and I am extremely grateful for their continued dedication.” 

The Office repatriated 100 antiquities collectively valued at more than $2.2 million to Türkiye, 52 of which were seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The artifacts were recovered pursuant to multiple criminal investigations conducted into trafficking networks. This marks this Office’s tenth repatriation with Turkiye, totaling 276 antiquities valued at $96.5 million.

“The cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye and the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office goes far beyond individual returns. By combining Türkiye’s long standing expertise with the DA’s investigative work, this cooperation is helping encourage museums, collectors and the art market to look more carefully at provenance and act more responsibly. Every object returning home brings us great joy. I sincerely thank the Manhattan DA’s Office and everyone involved for their determination, and for the trust based relationship they have built with our experts,” said Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism for the Republic of Türkiye.

Highlights of the objects returned include:

• Bronze Statuette of Hermes. This bronze statuette of Hermes dates to the 1st century B.C.E.–1st century C.E. and is valued at approximately $500,000. The statuette was looted from Türkiye and exported out of the country in the 1960s by convicted dealer George Zakos, before being sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1971 with no provenance.

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Pictured: “Grey Schist Figure of Yakshi”

The Office also repatriated 36 antiquities to the people of Pakistan, 35 of which were seized from the Met. This marks this Office’s seventh repatriation to Pakistan, totaling 550 antiquities valued at $22.5 million.

“We express our appreciation to the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their continued support. The lawful recovery and return of artifacts enable future generations in Pakistan and around the world to study, appreciate and learn from these extraordinary testimonies to human civilisation,” said Consul General Aamer Ahmed Atozai of the Consulate General of Pakistan, New York.

The pieces being returned are:

• A Grey Schist Figure of Yakshi, a female nature spirit. The Yakshi is depicted standing in the tribhanga pose, holding a large lotus-shaped vessel in her right hand and a water pot in her left hand. The Yakshi was seized by this Office from an auction house earlier this year.
• A Collection of Terracotta Figurines, dated ca. 3000-2700 B.C.E., from Mehrgarh, a Neolithic archaeological site in Pakistan. Among the earliest human-crafted figurines in the world, these terracotta artifacts are thought to represent a mother goddess or another cultic figure for worship. Mehrgarh was first discovered by archaeologists in 1974 and subsequently faced rampant looting. The statuettes were donated to the Met in 2001 and remained in the Met’s collection until they were seized by the Office earlier this year.

The eleven antiquities repatriated to the people of Thailand were recovered pursuant to the investigation into convicted trafficker Subhash Kapoor, who for decades smuggled looted antiquities into Manhattan and sold the pieces through his Madison Avenue-based gallery. Five of the artifacts returned today were seized from one of Kapoor’s New York storage units. This marks this Office’s second repatriation Thailand, totaling 24 antiquities valued at $675,000.

“With the valued cooperation of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, we are honored to bring a treasured part of Thailand’s cultural heritage and our national pride back home. These artifacts are more than objects of the past—they are enduring symbols of our history, identity, and the  cooperation between Thailand and the United States,” said Consul General of the Kingdom of Thailand in New York, Ms. Somjai Taphaopong.

For more than a decade, this Office has investigated Kapoor and his co-conspirators for the alleged illegal looting, exportation, and sale of artifacts from numerous countries in South and Southeast Asia, including Thailand. The D.A.’s Office obtained an arrest warrant for Kapoor in 2012. [1]

In November 2019, Kapoor and seven of his co-defendants were indicted by this Office for their conspiracy to traffic stolen antiquities. Based on evidence developed by this Office, Kapoor was convicted in 2022 in India for his trafficking activities. Five of Kapoor’S co-defendants have already been convicted by this Office, including two of his indicted co-defendants as well as three other traffickers who had been charged separately. Kapoor’S extradition from India is pending.

This Office’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit has now convicted 18 individuals of cultural-property-related crimes; recovered more than 6,400 cultural treasures, including rare books, works of art, and antiquities, valued at more than $490 million; and returned more than 6,150 so far to 39 countries. The extradition of another 7 alleged traffickers is pending.

The investigations were conducted by Chief of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit and Senior Trial Counsel Matthew Bogdanos along with Investigative Analysts Giuditta Giardini and Hilary Chassé; District Attorney Investigator John Paul Labbat; Special Agent Brenton Easter of Homeland Security Investigations; and former Investigative Analysts Michael Chapin and Charlotte Looram.

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[1] Any charges referenced herein that have not already resulted in convictions are merely allegations, and any individuals not convicted are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the court record.