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Recovery and Repatriation:
The Rosetta Stone

The Ongoing

Quandary of

Antiquities’

Ownership

By Judy Gonyeau, managing editor
A follow-up to the July 2021 article “Repatriation: Where do Historic Antiquities Belong?”

CE. This governmental body (U.S. Immigration and Customes on investigative methods. Over 500 law enforcement officers have
Enforcement) is mostly tied to catching the bad guys and put- completed the intricate training required to work in this field since 2009.
When an investigation into an object(s) concludes, HSI coordinates
Iting them on trial or returning illegal immigrants to their coun- the return of such objects to their rightful owner, often with an accom-
try of origin. Their mission statement is this: “Protect America panying ceremony to mark the occasion. Over 20,000 items have been
through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to repatriated to over 40 countries since 2007.
preserve national security and public safety.” But in their Vision Also of note, the FBI has a National Stolen Art File (NSAF)
statement is a mention regarding items – the use of the word “trade.” “registers the physical description of the stolen property, including the
artist, title, subject, materials, and dimensions, in addition to digital
These can be older things that may or may not be considered illegal due images. There are over 8,000 items that have been registered in NSAF,”
to free trade and items that were “rescued” or “gifts” … or were they? according to its website, artcrimes.fbi.gov/about-nsaf-1 Items in the
database include Mystic Garden, an oil on canvas painting that
The U.S.: Organized to Fight Transnational Crime measures 83” high and 68.5” wide from the 18th century; Kuan Yin
ICE, its specialized divisions and programs, is where the rubber sculpture that depicts a seated woman, a smaller female that is standing,
meets the road when it comes to antiques and antiquities that were not and a male child kneeling in prayer made from white Jade in the 13th
made in the U.S. As stated on the ICE website, “Combating cross- century; and a gilt bronze statuette of a slave in chains, circa 1650.
border criminal activity is the largest single area of responsibility of HSI There are many modern works included in the registry and several that
(Homeland Security Investigations), and is a critical component of the have no image to represent them but do have descriptions.
overall safety, security, and well-being of our nation.” While this may
bring to mind things like human trafficking, smuggling narcotics, etc., Newsmakers
it also has to do with goods brought here illegally on purpose, to If you think you’ve been seeing more stories on these investigations
launder money for example, or sometimes misguidedly brought here as and their outcomes, you have. The more investigations that are
“spoils of war,” meaning items harvested after an area has been “won” launched and carried forward, the more information is gathered on
as a result of a conflict settled by warfare. how and by whom such items go astray – out of the owner’s hands and
The HSI Global Trade Division (GT) exists to “stop predatory and into an “interested party’s” hands.
illegal trade practices.” One program that combines resources from In May 2023, Town & Country reported that “the line between
several governmental and academic communities is Project Shield preserving and purloining the past has never been less clear.” In other
America (PSA). “The primary objective of the PSA program is to words, are these items “saved” from devastation, or stolen? It all comes
increase public awareness of export controls and assist private industry down to the facts as they relate to provenance. Here are a few examples
and academic institutions in understanding current export control laws, from the article:
sanctions, and embargoes.” For example, the 2016 Endangered and January 2: A wooden sarcophagus, featured at the Houston
Threatened Wildlife and Plants (Endangered Species Act) Revision of Museum of Natural Sciences and known as the “Green Coffin,” was
Section 4(d) Rule for the African Elephant due to the returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it
outcry over the illegal ivory trade that caused the was looted from Abu Sir Necropolis (near Cairo) and
death of 30,000 African elephants every year in order smuggled into the United States in 2008.
to feed the demand for their ivory tusks. January 5: An Iron Age ivory cosmetic spoon,
“… In addition, the PSA program seeks to obtain found in the collection of billionaire antiquities
support from private industries and the academic collector Michael Steinhardt, was repatriated to the
community by identifying potential proliferators and Palestinian Authority. The spoon was reportedly
generating leads to initiate new HSI investigations, as looted from the Khirbet al-Koum area in Hebron, a
well as providing technical assistance and expertise to Palestinian city in the West Bank. “It is the first-ever
support ongoing investigations. Similarly, the PSA event of such repatriation from the United States to
program provides private industry and the academic the Palestinian Authority in history,” the U.S. Office
community an HSI point of contact when such enti- of Palestinian Affairs said in a statement.
ties encounter suspicious inquiries or questionable January 23: New York County district attorney’s
contacts targeting their respective fields.” office returned 60 antiquities to Italy in repatriation
The Cultural Property, Art, and Antiquities valued around $20 million. The statues, vases,
(CPAA) Program investigates the “illicit importation bronzes, and other pieces of art—including a fresco
and distribution of stolen or looted cultural property.” depicting Hercules—were found in museums and
Investigators are schooled on the identification, The “Green Coffin” being inspected the homes of private collectors. They will go on
authentication, and handling of objects and artifacts upon its return to Egypt. display at the Museo dell’Arte Salvata (Museum of
by the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Saved Art) in Rome.
Center and the Smithsonian Institution. At these workshops, scientists January 24: Harvard University’s Peabody Museum and Warren
and experts provide instruction on the handling, documentation, stor- Anatomical Museum finished repatriating the remains of 313 Indigenous
age, and photography of different types of artifacts; and attorneys and people from eastern Massachusetts to Wampanoag communities.
HSI special agents train customs officers, fellow agents, and prosecutors January 25: Spain repatriated two Flemish paintings created in the

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