Story at a glance
- Steinhardt surrendered 180 stolen antiquities valued at $70 million.
- The district attorney’s office said the objects seized were looted and illegally smuggled out of 11 countries, trafficked by a dozen criminal smuggling networks.
- The deal follows an international investigation that officially kicked off in 2017.
A hedge-fund billionaire and prominent art collector has agreed to turn over 180 stolen antiquities valued at $70 million and will be subject to an unprecedented lifetime ban on acquiring any other such artifacts as part of a deal with authorities, the Manhattan district attorney said Monday.
AP
The district attorney’s office said the objects seized from Michael Steinhardt were looted and illegally smuggled out of 11 countries, trafficked by a dozen criminal smuggling networks and “lacked verifiable provenance prior to appearing on the international art market.”
Countries of origin include Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Turkey. Authorities said 171 of the 180 seized objects first surfaced in the possession of accused antiquities traffickers.
The deal follows an international investigation that officially kicked off in 2017.
“For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe,” Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. said in a statement.
“His pursuit of ‘new’ additions to showcase and sell knew no geographic or moral boundaries, as reflected in the sprawling underworld of antiquities traffickers, crime bosses, money launderers, and tomb raiders he relied upon to expand his collection,” Vance said.
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Vance said the agreement not to prosecute Steinhardt will allow the 180 pieces to be returned “expeditiously” to their rightful owners rather than be held as evidence for the years necessary to carry out the indictment, trial, potential conviction on sentence of Steinhardt. He said the move also allows his office to shield the identity of witnesses.
“Mr. Steinhardt is pleased that the District Attorney’s yearslong investigation has concluded without any charges, and that items wrongfully taken by others will be returned to their native countries. Many of the dealers from whom Mr. Steinhardt bought these items made specific representations as to the dealers’ lawful title to the items, and to their alleged provenance. To the extent these representations were false, Mr. Steinhardt has reserved his rights to seek recompense from the dealers involved,” Steinhardt’s lawyer Andrew J. Levander said in a statement, according to The New York Times.
Items surrendered by Steinhardt include the “Stag’s Head Rhyton,” a ceremonial in the form of a stag’s head that dates to 400BCE. Other antiquities include a small chest for human remains called “The Larnax,” that dates back somewhere between 1400 and 1200 BCE and the “Ercolano Fresco,” which depicts an infant Hercules strangling a snake sent by Hera to slay him. The object dates back to 50 CE.
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