Metropolitan Museum of Art Reviews Holdings Linked to Alleged Trafficking

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An analysis by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) found that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York still holds hundreds of antiquities linked to convicted or indicted traffickers, including Subhash Kapoor, Robert E. Hecht, and the late Douglas Latchford. This report followed previous seizures of over $95 million worth of items from the museum, which holds a collection of more than 1.5 million objects. In response to the findings, the Met stated it had established an investigative team to research the provenance of these works on an object-by-object basis and had previously repatriated several items to their countries of origin.

Consequences

The museum faces increasing pressure from government investigators, who have reportedly grown impatient with the pace of the institution’s internal provenance reviews. Advocacy groups are pushing the Met to adopt a more proactive repatriation strategy rather than waiting for formal legal intervention from foreign governments or U.S. prosecutors.

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