From London, some artifacts stolen between the 1960s and 1980s return to Italy

A number of sarcophagi, ornaments and capitals from different periods that were stolen between the 1960s and 1980s are returning to Italy. Just a few weeks after Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities Alberto Bonisoli ’s decision to reconvene the Institutional Committee on Stolen Works, the minister himself, on a mission to London, attended the official ceremony for the return of eight lots, a total of twelve artifacts, plus a page of an illuminated codex, stolen in the 1940s from the State Archives in Venice.

In addition to Bonisoli, the ceremony was attended by Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti, Italian Ambassador to London Raffaele Trombetta and Carabinieri Commander Tutela Patrimonio Culturale Brigadier General Fabrizio Parrulli. The works were traced thanks to an activity of the Carabinieri’s Comando Tutela Beni Culturali (Cultural Heritage Protection Command ), which carried out the investigation by cross-referencing data provided by the London auction house Christie’s and those contained in databases of illicitly stolen goods.

The finds in question are: a Greek glass-paste oinochoe, an Etruscan terracotta antefix from the 6th-5th centuries B.C.E. and a Faliscan red-figure stamnos dating to the 4th century B.C.E., five Gnathia-style dishes from the 4th century B.C.E., an Apulian red-figure hydria from 350-330 B.C.E, which were among the objects sought because they were listed by known Italian art dealers; a Roman capital from the 2nd century A.D., the proceeds of clandestine excavations; a marble fragment of a Roman sarcophagus from the catacombs of San Callisto and reported stolen in 1982; a Roman marble relief with Satyr and Maenad stolen from the gardens of Villa Borghese in 1985; and the page of an illuminated codex.

“The return confirms the effectiveness of the collaboration between our country and art market giants like Christie’s in the fight against the illegal trafficking of artworks. Whoever buys a work of art or an artifact must be certain of the provenance of that object,” Alberto Bonisoli said at the handing-over ceremony. “And this is what we are trying to do precisely through collaboration with institutions and auction houses. A preventive check on the pieces that end up for sale and the enforcement of stricter laws for those who buy objects without knowing their provenance will help dismantle this traffic.”

Pictured: some of the recovered artifacts

From London, some artifacts stolen between the 1960s and 1980s return to Italy

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