5 October 2025

In a major blow to antiquities trafficking, the dedicated team of Manhattan Deputy District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, in collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Culture, has successfully seized 29 artifacts of significant historical value. These items, dating from the Late Neolithic period (5000–4000 BCE) to the Late Hellenistic era (2nd–1st century BCE), were today officially returned to Greece, their place of origin.

The collection includes exemplary works of sculpture, metallurgy, and ceramics. Highlights include two Neolithic stone axe heads (5000–4000 BCE), a Minoan agate seal depicting a goat (3100 BCE), three marble Early Cycladic vessels (2700–2400 BCE), a Mycenaean stirrup jar (1200–1100 BCE), two bronze belt fittings from Western Macedonia (7th century BCE), a bronze furniture foot shaped as a siren from a Laconian workshop (c. 600 BCE), a marble kouros head (mid-6th century BCE), a bronze Medusa Gorgoneion likely from a Corinthian workshop (late 6th century BCE), a bronze coiled serpent ornament (5th century BCE), a gold pendant (5th–4th century BCE), two iron sacrificial knives (5th–4th century BCE), three silver conical cups (c. 300 BCE), and a bronze attachment with the head of Atalante (2nd–1st century BCE).

Following months of meticulous investigation — supported by the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property of the Greek Ministry of Culture — the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office uncovered irrefutable evidence proving the illicit origin and trafficking of these antiquities through New York gallery Fortuna Fine Arts. Its associates had already been arrested in 2020 for fraud and forgery of provenance documents.

Notably, 18 of the seized items had found their way into the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York — underscoring how easily trafficked antiquities can enter even the world’s most prestigious museums. This case sends a resounding message about the urgent need to strengthen provenance verification across cultural institutions globally.

Thanks to the close cooperation developed in recent years between the Metropolitan Museum and the Greek Ministry of Culture, the repatriation process was expedited. This is not the first such case: in February 2025, the museum returned a bronze griffin head, excavated in Olympia in 1914, to Greece.

The artifacts were formally handed over to Greek authorities during a ceremony held in New York.

Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni emphasized:
“Every repatriation of Greek antiquities is an extraordinary achievement and a validation of the Ministry’s sustained policy against illicit trafficking of cultural heritage — a crime closely linked to organized crime and terrorism. Greece is now recognized globally for prioritizing the protection of cultural property. This was also evident at Mondiacult, UNESCO’s world conference on cultural policy, held in Barcelona. This success, led by Matthew Bogdanos and the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, fills us with pride and optimism. Combating illicit trafficking demands strong partnerships and tireless effort — partnerships we have nurtured and continue to strengthen. My deepest thanks go to everyone involved in returning these 29 antiquities to their rightful home.”

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, head of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, added:
“This success belongs to my colleagues in the Antiquities Trafficking Unit and to the Greek Ministry of Culture, whose cooperation has been constant and invaluable. We remain determined — vigilant and unwavering — in the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural heritage.”