MOLA
@museumofloot.bsky.social
Museum of Looted Antiquities is a virtual gallery that collects, displays and studies looted antiquities that have been repatriated since 1950 – and the trafficking networks behind them.
MuseumOfLoot.org
MuseumOfLoot.org
An ancient Inuvialuit kayak that has been held in the Vatican Museums' collection since 1925 will be returned to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Québec, in a historically significant restitution.
www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/06/v...
www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/06/v...
Vatican Museums will return rare Indigenous kayak to Canada
The Vatican is working with the Canadian Catholic Church to return Indigenous artefacts
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
An ancient Inuvialuit kayak that has been held in the Vatican Museums' collection since 1925 will be returned to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Québec, in a historically significant restitution.
www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/06/v...
www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/06/v...
Egypt’s Grand Museum Is Finally Open. Now, ‘We Need Our Stuff Back.’
For many Egyptians, the state-of-the art museum is a stage from which to renew demands that Egypt’s most iconic antiquities belong in their homeland — not the marble halls of European museums.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/a...
For many Egyptians, the state-of-the art museum is a stage from which to renew demands that Egypt’s most iconic antiquities belong in their homeland — not the marble halls of European museums.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/a...
Egypt’s Grand Museum Is Finally Open. Now, ‘We Need Our Stuff Back.’
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Egypt’s Grand Museum Is Finally Open. Now, ‘We Need Our Stuff Back.’
For many Egyptians, the state-of-the art museum is a stage from which to renew demands that Egypt’s most iconic antiquities belong in their homeland — not the marble halls of European museums.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/a...
For many Egyptians, the state-of-the art museum is a stage from which to renew demands that Egypt’s most iconic antiquities belong in their homeland — not the marble halls of European museums.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/a...
Egypt has recovered 36 looted artifacts were recovered from New York.
The pieces include:
11 artifacts confiscated by @manhattanda.bsky.social
24 manuscripts featuring Coptic and Syriac texts
and a limestone relief from the 18th Dynasty, returned by the Met
www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/14...
The pieces include:
11 artifacts confiscated by @manhattanda.bsky.social
24 manuscripts featuring Coptic and Syriac texts
and a limestone relief from the 18th Dynasty, returned by the Met
www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/14...
Egypt Recovers 36 Ancient Artifacts from the United States
Egypt Recovers 36 Ancient Artifacts from the United States.
www.egypttoday.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Egypt has recovered 36 looted artifacts were recovered from New York.
The pieces include:
11 artifacts confiscated by @manhattanda.bsky.social
24 manuscripts featuring Coptic and Syriac texts
and a limestone relief from the 18th Dynasty, returned by the Met
www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/14...
The pieces include:
11 artifacts confiscated by @manhattanda.bsky.social
24 manuscripts featuring Coptic and Syriac texts
and a limestone relief from the 18th Dynasty, returned by the Met
www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/14...
Denver Post confirms what we’ve been hearing: nearly all federal HSI agents with expertise on cultural property crimes have been reassigned to immigration duties in recent months.
Major loss of law enforcement capabilities in the world’s largest art market.
www.denverpost.com/2025/11/06/u...
Major loss of law enforcement capabilities in the world’s largest art market.
www.denverpost.com/2025/11/06/u...
The U.S. was a leader in cultural heritage investigations. Now those agents are working immigration enforcement.
Homeland Security Investigations, the department’s investigative arm, once had as many as eight agents in its New York office investigating cultural property cases.
www.denverpost.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Denver Post confirms what we’ve been hearing: nearly all federal HSI agents with expertise on cultural property crimes have been reassigned to immigration duties in recent months.
Major loss of law enforcement capabilities in the world’s largest art market.
www.denverpost.com/2025/11/06/u...
Major loss of law enforcement capabilities in the world’s largest art market.
www.denverpost.com/2025/11/06/u...
The French press have identified one of the suspects arrested for the Louvre heist at a street racer from Aubervilliers who goes by Doudou Cross Bitume
#babydriver
www.liberation.fr/societe/musc...
#babydriver
www.liberation.fr/societe/musc...
November 6, 2025 at 3:58 PM
The French press have identified one of the suspects arrested for the Louvre heist at a street racer from Aubervilliers who goes by Doudou Cross Bitume
#babydriver
www.liberation.fr/societe/musc...
#babydriver
www.liberation.fr/societe/musc...
Soft power: At the end of his talks with Vietnamese Defense Minister, Hegseth handed over a leather box, a belt and a small knife — wartime artifacts once taken by U.S. soldiers.
Such returns have become part of broader reconciliation efforts between the two countries
infonews.ca/news/7409764...
Such returns have become part of broader reconciliation efforts between the two countries
infonews.ca/news/7409764...
Hegseth in Vietnam to strengthen defense ties and reassure a cautious partner | iNFOnews.ca
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was in Vietnam on Sunday, reaffirming a partnership built on healing the scars of the Vietnam War in
infonews.ca
November 4, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Soft power: At the end of his talks with Vietnamese Defense Minister, Hegseth handed over a leather box, a belt and a small knife — wartime artifacts once taken by U.S. soldiers.
Such returns have become part of broader reconciliation efforts between the two countries
infonews.ca/news/7409764...
Such returns have become part of broader reconciliation efforts between the two countries
infonews.ca/news/7409764...
A small army is racing against time and Trump to preserve U.S. history
Over 1,600 volunteers have created private archives with more than 50,000 photos and videos of museum exhibits before Trump’s directives take effect.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Over 1,600 volunteers have created private archives with more than 50,000 photos and videos of museum exhibits before Trump’s directives take effect.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
A small army is racing against time and Trump to preserve U.S. history
Like 'monks' in the Middle Ages, volunteers are working to preserve cultural treasures they fear are under threat from President Trump’s war against 'woke.'
www.latimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:39 PM
A small army is racing against time and Trump to preserve U.S. history
Over 1,600 volunteers have created private archives with more than 50,000 photos and videos of museum exhibits before Trump’s directives take effect.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Over 1,600 volunteers have created private archives with more than 50,000 photos and videos of museum exhibits before Trump’s directives take effect.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
New Case: The Bronze Durga sculpture from Mỹ Son, Vietnam. Contributed by Jason Felch.
This ornate bronze sculpture of the Hindu goddess Durga was stolen from the Mỹ Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Vietnam, in 2008. It has been called "the finest Asia bronze sculpture that exists.”
This ornate bronze sculpture of the Hindu goddess Durga was stolen from the Mỹ Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Vietnam, in 2008. It has been called "the finest Asia bronze sculpture that exists.”
November 3, 2025 at 10:54 PM
New Case: The Bronze Durga sculpture from Mỹ Son, Vietnam. Contributed by Jason Felch.
This ornate bronze sculpture of the Hindu goddess Durga was stolen from the Mỹ Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Vietnam, in 2008. It has been called "the finest Asia bronze sculpture that exists.”
This ornate bronze sculpture of the Hindu goddess Durga was stolen from the Mỹ Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Vietnam, in 2008. It has been called "the finest Asia bronze sculpture that exists.”
The stone head, dating from the dynasty of Pharaoh Thutmose III, was likely plundered during the Arab Spring in either 2011 or 2012.
A decade later, it turned up at the art fair in Maastricht and, following an tip-off, Dutch authorities determined it had been stolen and exported illegally.
A decade later, it turned up at the art fair in Maastricht and, following an tip-off, Dutch authorities determined it had been stolen and exported illegally.
November 3, 2025 at 4:14 PM
The stone head, dating from the dynasty of Pharaoh Thutmose III, was likely plundered during the Arab Spring in either 2011 or 2012.
A decade later, it turned up at the art fair in Maastricht and, following an tip-off, Dutch authorities determined it had been stolen and exported illegally.
A decade later, it turned up at the art fair in Maastricht and, following an tip-off, Dutch authorities determined it had been stolen and exported illegally.
New Case: The Salerno Seizures, contributed by Michela Herbert.
As the world celebrates the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the public will have an opportunity to see some of the tens of thousands of looted Egyptian artifacts that were seized at the Italian port of Salerno in May 2017.
As the world celebrates the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the public will have an opportunity to see some of the tens of thousands of looted Egyptian artifacts that were seized at the Italian port of Salerno in May 2017.
November 1, 2025 at 11:39 PM
New Case: The Salerno Seizures, contributed by Michela Herbert.
As the world celebrates the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the public will have an opportunity to see some of the tens of thousands of looted Egyptian artifacts that were seized at the Italian port of Salerno in May 2017.
As the world celebrates the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the public will have an opportunity to see some of the tens of thousands of looted Egyptian artifacts that were seized at the Italian port of Salerno in May 2017.
A Tunisian man tried to sell 30 Punic bronze coins, purportedly from an underwater hoard off Tunisia’s coast, to an antiques dealer in Oslo. The dealer, suspecting the coins’ dubious provenance, alerted Norwegian authorities, who started an investigation.
archaeologymag.com/2025/10/cart...
archaeologymag.com/2025/10/cart...
Carthaginian bronze coins seized in Norway highlight ancient trade and modern heritage challenges
Ancient Carthaginian coins seized in Norway are returned to Tunisia, exposing global challenges in cultural heritage trafficking.
archaeologymag.com
November 1, 2025 at 8:30 PM
A Tunisian man tried to sell 30 Punic bronze coins, purportedly from an underwater hoard off Tunisia’s coast, to an antiques dealer in Oslo. The dealer, suspecting the coins’ dubious provenance, alerted Norwegian authorities, who started an investigation.
archaeologymag.com/2025/10/cart...
archaeologymag.com/2025/10/cart...
Reposted by MOLA
For anyone in Los Angeles who is interested in the politics of cultural heritage, put this event on your calendar!
Renowned scholar and anthropologist Lynn Meskell will speak at the Getty on Saturday November 22, 2025 at 3 pm.
Register here: www.getty.edu/calendar/rui...
Renowned scholar and anthropologist Lynn Meskell will speak at the Getty on Saturday November 22, 2025 at 3 pm.
Register here: www.getty.edu/calendar/rui...
October 29, 2025 at 11:28 PM
For anyone in Los Angeles who is interested in the politics of cultural heritage, put this event on your calendar!
Renowned scholar and anthropologist Lynn Meskell will speak at the Getty on Saturday November 22, 2025 at 3 pm.
Register here: www.getty.edu/calendar/rui...
Renowned scholar and anthropologist Lynn Meskell will speak at the Getty on Saturday November 22, 2025 at 3 pm.
Register here: www.getty.edu/calendar/rui...
Reposted by MOLA
Billions in treasure lie on the seafloor. Finders keepers?
As treasure hunters pursue gold and silver, they both aid and compete with archaeologists.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
As treasure hunters pursue gold and silver, they both aid and compete with archaeologists.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Billions in treasure lie on the seafloor. Finders keepers?
As treasure hunters pursue gold and silver, they both aid and compete with archeologists.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Billions in treasure lie on the seafloor. Finders keepers?
As treasure hunters pursue gold and silver, they both aid and compete with archaeologists.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
As treasure hunters pursue gold and silver, they both aid and compete with archaeologists.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
NYT: Four Decades After It Was Stolen, a Renaissance Treasure by Fra Antonio da Monza Returns to Rome
The Italian art police still don’t know who took the brilliantly illuminated manuscript page from a Franciscan friary, and many more pages have yet to be found.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
The Italian art police still don’t know who took the brilliantly illuminated manuscript page from a Franciscan friary, and many more pages have yet to be found.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
Four Decades After It Was Stolen, a Renaissance Treasure Returns to Rome
www.nytimes.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:32 PM
NYT: Four Decades After It Was Stolen, a Renaissance Treasure by Fra Antonio da Monza Returns to Rome
The Italian art police still don’t know who took the brilliantly illuminated manuscript page from a Franciscan friary, and many more pages have yet to be found.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
The Italian art police still don’t know who took the brilliantly illuminated manuscript page from a Franciscan friary, and many more pages have yet to be found.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
Reposted by MOLA
5 more people arrested in Louvre Museum heist.
Breakthrough in Louvre Museum Crown Jewels Theft: Five New Arrests
art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/10/brea...
art-crime.blogspot.com/2025/10/brea...
Breakthrough in Louvre Crown Jewels Theft: Five New Arrests
"A blog about art crimes, illicit trafficking, forgery, art theft and cultural heritage protection."
art-crime.blogspot.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:46 AM
5 more people arrested in Louvre Museum heist.
Reposted by MOLA
The MFA has reached a first-of-its-kind ownership resolution for 2 vessels by the enslaved potter David Drake. This restitution to his family takes its place alongside other resolutions we've reached, but it's the first that addresses theft during slavery. www.mfa.org/press-releas...
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Resolves Ownership of Works by Enslaved Artist David Drake
BOSTON (October 29, 2025)—The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), has reached a historic agreement with the known descendants of David Drake (also k
www.mfa.org
October 29, 2025 at 10:06 PM
The MFA has reached a first-of-its-kind ownership resolution for 2 vessels by the enslaved potter David Drake. This restitution to his family takes its place alongside other resolutions we've reached, but it's the first that addresses theft during slavery. www.mfa.org/press-releas...
Remarkable: “This marks the first time that the [Boston MFA] has resolved an ownership claim for works of art that were wrongfully taken under the conditions of slavery in the 19th-century U.S.”
www.mfa.org/press-releas...
www.mfa.org/press-releas...
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Resolves Ownership of Works by Enslaved Artist David Drake
BOSTON (October 29, 2025)—The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), has reached a historic agreement with the known descendants of David Drake (also k
www.mfa.org
October 29, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Remarkable: “This marks the first time that the [Boston MFA] has resolved an ownership claim for works of art that were wrongfully taken under the conditions of slavery in the 19th-century U.S.”
www.mfa.org/press-releas...
www.mfa.org/press-releas...
Reposted by MOLA
“The museum says it had no idea at the time” - AGAIN?
“the lawsuit says the transaction was overseen by Theodore Rousseau Jr., the museum’s curator of European paintings and an expert on art looting by the Nazis”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/a...
#Met #Museum #loot
“the lawsuit says the transaction was overseen by Theodore Rousseau Jr., the museum’s curator of European paintings and an expert on art looting by the Nazis”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/a...
#Met #Museum #loot
Jewish Heirs Sue the Met, Saying a van Gogh It Sold Was Nazi Loot
www.nytimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:36 AM
“The museum says it had no idea at the time” - AGAIN?
“the lawsuit says the transaction was overseen by Theodore Rousseau Jr., the museum’s curator of European paintings and an expert on art looting by the Nazis”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/a...
#Met #Museum #loot
“the lawsuit says the transaction was overseen by Theodore Rousseau Jr., the museum’s curator of European paintings and an expert on art looting by the Nazis”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/a...
#Met #Museum #loot
New Case: Persephone of Cyrene, contributed by Julia Granato
This ornate marble sculpture of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, was looted from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cyrene (Cyrenaica) in Shahhat, Libya during the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
This ornate marble sculpture of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, was looted from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cyrene (Cyrenaica) in Shahhat, Libya during the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
October 28, 2025 at 9:44 PM
New Case: Persephone of Cyrene, contributed by Julia Granato
This ornate marble sculpture of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, was looted from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cyrene (Cyrenaica) in Shahhat, Libya during the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
This ornate marble sculpture of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, was looted from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cyrene (Cyrenaica) in Shahhat, Libya during the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
A rare alabaster statue believed to depict the head of a princess from the ancient Kingdom of Saba is set to be auctioned in Vienna next month, drawing renewed attention to Yemen’s looted heritage and calls for repatriation.
yemenonline.info/land-of-sheb...
yemenonline.info/land-of-sheb...
Rare Sabaean Princess Head Statue from Yemen Listed in Vienna Auction, Sparking Heritage Concerns - Yemen Online |
Sana'a – A rare alabaster statue believed to depict the head of a princess from the ancient Kingdom of Saba is set to be auctioned in Vienna next month, drawing renewed at
yemenonline.info
October 26, 2025 at 11:08 PM
A rare alabaster statue believed to depict the head of a princess from the ancient Kingdom of Saba is set to be auctioned in Vienna next month, drawing renewed attention to Yemen’s looted heritage and calls for repatriation.
yemenonline.info/land-of-sheb...
yemenonline.info/land-of-sheb...
The British Museum has been accused of “provocative indifference” and “covering Greek culture in the shade of Barbie” by officials in Greece after it hosted a fundraising gala that included dozens of celebrities and billionaires seated near the Parthenon marbles.
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Greece accuses British Museum of ‘provocative indifference’ over pink ball
Event seated guests near Parthenon marbles, which Greece wants returned, and raised £2.5m for museum
www.theguardian.com
October 25, 2025 at 9:17 PM
The British Museum has been accused of “provocative indifference” and “covering Greek culture in the shade of Barbie” by officials in Greece after it hosted a fundraising gala that included dozens of celebrities and billionaires seated near the Parthenon marbles.
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Reposted by MOLA
‘Bone Box’ by Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas at the Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC. “Fabricated out of discarded trays that once stored archeological collections, this interactive work calls for us to engage with one another.”
October 25, 2025 at 8:43 PM
‘Bone Box’ by Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas at the Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, BC. “Fabricated out of discarded trays that once stored archeological collections, this interactive work calls for us to engage with one another.”
New case: The Dallas Bhairava Mask
This is one of two sacred masks stolen in 1994 from Dolakha, Nepal. The masks date to c. 16th century CE and are effigies of Shiva—one of Hinduism’s most important deities.
This is one of two sacred masks stolen in 1994 from Dolakha, Nepal. The masks date to c. 16th century CE and are effigies of Shiva—one of Hinduism’s most important deities.
October 24, 2025 at 11:45 PM
New case: The Dallas Bhairava Mask
This is one of two sacred masks stolen in 1994 from Dolakha, Nepal. The masks date to c. 16th century CE and are effigies of Shiva—one of Hinduism’s most important deities.
This is one of two sacred masks stolen in 1994 from Dolakha, Nepal. The masks date to c. 16th century CE and are effigies of Shiva—one of Hinduism’s most important deities.
Reposted by MOLA
Congrats to @brenthuffman.bsky.social who was awarded with a @buffett.northwestern.edu Faculty Fellowship to pursue his research. His documentary, “Yemen Mosaic,” is about Yemeni women working to save the cultural heritage of Yemen as they face threats including war and climate change.
September 25, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Congrats to @brenthuffman.bsky.social who was awarded with a @buffett.northwestern.edu Faculty Fellowship to pursue his research. His documentary, “Yemen Mosaic,” is about Yemeni women working to save the cultural heritage of Yemen as they face threats including war and climate change.
News: Another looted antiquity seized from the Met Museum this year goes back to Italy, along with 8 other antiquities
manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-an...
manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-an...
October 24, 2025 at 1:27 PM
News: Another looted antiquity seized from the Met Museum this year goes back to Italy, along with 8 other antiquities
manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-an...
manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-an...