D.A. Bragg Announces Return Of 13 Antiquities To The People Of Egypt

Pictured: Block Statue of Ankhwennefer

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the return 13 antiquities to the people of Egypt, collectively valued at nearly $2 million. Twelve of the thirteen had been in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art until they were seized by this Office earlier this year and voluntarily surrendered. All thirteen seizures were the result of criminal investigations into three separate antiquities trafficking networks.

"Despite our significant progress dismantling these extensive trafficking networks, there is clearly still more work to do. Museums and galleries in Manhattan should not be filled with looting or stolen cultural artifacts," said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

"On behalf of the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, I extend our sincere appreciation to the New York District Attorney's Office-particularly the Antiquities Trafficking Unit-for their dedicated efforts and steadfast cooperation in the successful recovery of Egyptian antiquities. This reflects a partnership spanning more than 15 years in combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property. We deeply value this continued cooperation, which is essential to safeguarding Egypt's rich heritage and ensuring these artifacts are returned to their rightful home for the benefit of future generations," said Egypt's Consul General Tamer K. El Miligy.

Among the pieces returned include the following:

• The Block Statue of Ankhwennefer, dated ca. 690-650 BCE, depicts an Egyptian official named Ankhwennefer. The Block Statue was smuggled out of Egypt in the late 1980s by Parisian antiquities dealer Jean-Louis Domercq. It was then brought into New York by convicted antiquities dealer Ed Merrin, and ultimately was sold to The Met in 1993.
• The Kohl Tube in the Shape of a Monkey, ca. 1550-1450 BCE, is a glazed steatite cosmetics container. It first appeared with Galerie Nefer, a Swiss gallery owned Frieda Tchakos, in 1985 and was purchased by Norbert Schimmel, who donated the Kohl Tube to The Met in 1989.
• The Figure of Isis-Aphrodite, dated ca. 2nd century CE, is a terracotta depiction of a syncretism between the Egyptian goddess Isis with the Greco-Roman goddess Aphrodite. The Figure first appeared in 1991 with Galerie Nefer before being sold to The Met.

The Antiquities Trafficking Unit has now recovered more than 6,200 cultural treasures, including rare books, works of art, and antiquities, valued at more than $485 million, and returned more than 5,900 of those so far to 36 countries. The ATU has also convicted 18 individuals of cultural property-related crimes, and the pending extradition of another 7 alleged traffickers.

The investigations were conducted by Chief of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit and Senior Trial Counsel Matthew Bogdanos; Investigative Analysts Giuditta Giardini and Michael Chapin; District Attorney Investigator John Paul Labbat; and former Investigative Analyst Charlotte Looram.

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