Worcester Art Museum transfers 'likely stolen' Roman bronze bust to Manhattan DA's office

WORCESTER - The Worcester Art Museum announced Friday that it has transferred ownership of the Roman bronze bust "Portrait of a Lady (A Daughter of Marcus Aurelius?)" to the Manhattan district attorney’s office in New York City after receiving information that it was "likely stolen and improperly imported."

The transfer is so the bronze bust can be "repatriated to its country of origin," the museum said.

A warrant signed by a judge in Manhattan June 8 ordered the seizure of the statue. The Manhattan district attorney's office forwarded a copy of the search warrant Saturday to the Telegram & Gazette.

The warrant said the bust is 21.5 inches tall and valued at $5 million. The bust "is stolen and constitutes evidence of, and tends to demonstrate the commission of the crimes of, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, Penal Law § 165.54, and a Conspiracy to commit the same crime under Penal Law § 105.10(1)," the warrant said.

The Manhattan district attorney's office has been conducting an ongoing investigation into a smuggling network involving antiquities looted from Bubon in southwestern Turkey and trafficked through Manhattan.

"The investigation into pieces associated with thefts from Bubon is ongoing," Kay Nguyen, press officer for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, said Saturday.

Over the years, countries across the world including Turkey and Italy, have been urging major American institutions to return artifacts they believe were stolen.

The office of the Manhattan district attorney, also known as the New York County district attorney, has worked in recent years to repatriate hundreds of objects looted from countries including Turkey, Greece, Israel and Italy. The current district attorney is Alvin Bragg. Last month a headless bronze statue believed to depict the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius was seized from the Cleveland Museum of Art by New York authorities investigating antiquities looted from Turkey. The New York Times has reported that according to the Manhattan district attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, the accused traffickers were based in New York, giving the unit legal authority to seize the statue from another state because New York was the “focal point of the conspiracy.”

The Roman bronze bust "Portrait of a Lady (A Daughter of Marcus Aurelius?)" dates to A.D. 160–180 and is thought to have come from a large family shrine in Turkey of an emperor, possibly Marcus Aurelius or Septimus Severus, likely a life-sized representation of one of their daughters, the Worcester Art Museum said.

Bust purchased in 1966

The museum said it purchased "Portrait of a Lady (A Daughter of Marcus Aurelius?)" in October 1966.

"At that time, the museum was provided with limited information about the object’s history. The museum was informed by the vendor that it had been found in southwestern Anatolia (the Roman province of Lycia) that same year. Although the museum conducted its own research at that time, it now acquires objects with greater diligence," the museum said.

According to Friday's announcement, early in 2023, "the New York County District Attorney’s Office provided new information to the museum, prompting the museum to cooperate with the DA’s investigation of the object’s history of ownership. The museum had never previously received a claim or learned of any defect in ownership. Based on the new evidence that was provided, the museum determined that the bronze was likely stolen and improperly imported, and has carried out the process of safely transferring the object."

Matthias Waschek, the Worcester Art Museum’s Jean and Myles McDonough director, said in the announcement "We are very thankful for the new information provided to us. The ethical standards applicable to museums are much changed since the 1960s, and the museum is committed to managing its collection consistent with modern ethical standards.”

Claire C. Whitner, the Worcester Art Museum’s director of curatorial affairs and the James A. Welu Curator of European Art, added, “We are honored to play a part in the return of this Roman bust, which has been enjoyed by visitors to the museum for over five decades."

The museum said "Portrait of a Lady (A Daughter of Marcus Aurelius?)" has been studied as a fascinating example of ancient Roman craft. The head and shoulders of the bust, which were probably paired in antiquity but found together and not attached as a single unit, each reflect "a different quality of workmanship. While the bust and shoulders are treated summarily, the head is sensitively modeled and the hair minutely detailed in carefully combed waves. The woman's heavy-lidded gaze betrays a contemplative personality as distant as the emperors themselves."

The headless bronze statue seized from the Cleveland Museum of Art by New York authorities "had been a highlight of its collection of ancient Roman art," the British daily The Guardian said.

The 1.9-meter (76-inch) statue dates from A.D. 180-200 and is worth $20 million (£16m), according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Marcus Aurelius ruled as Roman emperor from A.D. 161-180 and was a Stoic philosopher whose “Meditations” has been studied over the centuries.

No further information was immediately available from the Worcester Art Museum Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Art Museum gives 'likely stolen' Roman bust to Manhattan DA