Yet another allegedly looted antiquity is due to be seized from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A warrant from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office signed on Aug. 30 targets an Indian 6th century sculpture titled Mother Goddess (Matrika), according to a report from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The sculpture, gifted to the Met in 1993 from collectors Florence and Herbet Irving after being owned by French collector Christian Humann, is reportedly valued at $300,000.
This is just the latest antiquity to be seized from the Met. According to ICIJ, the District Attorney’s office has obtained nine warrants to seize more than 30 works from the museum since 2017, six of which were filed in the last year.
In July, 21 looted antiquities valued at over $11 million, including a Greek marble head from 200 BC and statues from the Roman Empire, were confiscated from the Met by the office’s Antiquity Trafficking Unit, according to the report.
