ISTANBUL
A monumental bronze statue of a Roman emperor from the ancient city of Bubon, a Roman-era depiction of Demosthenes and several other artifacts have been returned to Türkiye from the United States, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said Thursday.
The artifacts, which also include works from the Urartian and Lydian civilizations as well as a marble column capital depicting Archangel Michael, were repatriated from New York following scientific and legal procedures and transferred to Ankara’s Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ersoy said on Türkiye’s domestic social media platform NSosyal.
“As a result of scientific and legal efforts, we have reunited these works, the heritage of these lands, with their homeland,” he said.
He added that Türkiye continues to work closely with international partners to protect its cultural heritage and ensure the return of artifacts taken abroad, thanking the teams at the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums for their role in the process.
Artifacts now housed in Ankara
The Culture and Tourism Ministry said the repatriation marked a new milestone in Türkiye’s long-running efforts to recover cultural assets.
The artifacts, previously held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, were delivered to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations after the completion of provenance research, scientific examinations and legal procedures carried out in coordination with international institutions.
With their transfer to Ankara, the repatriation process for the items has been completed, the ministry said, adding that the works represent significant examples of Anatolia’s multilayered historical and cultural legacy.
The artifacts are expected to be presented to the public following conservation, documentation and scientific study.
18 Bubon-origin artifacts returned
With the latest repatriation, the total number of artifacts originating from the ancient city of Bubon returned to Türkiye has reached 18, the ministry said. Six of the recovered works are monumental bronze emperor statues larger than life size.
The repatriation process was carried out in close cooperation with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and US Homeland Security Investigations.
Türkiye also provided witness testimonies and scientific reports as evidence in an investigation launched against a collector who initially resisted the return of an artifact held in a private collection in California.
The evidence, which showed the artifact had been removed from Bubon through illicit excavation, formed the basis of the investigation. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued against the collector.
After attempting to initiate legal action against both the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Türkiye, the collector ultimately handed over the artifact to prosecutors and accepted its return to Türkiye in light of the strength of the evidence presented.
Investigations also identified all parties involved in the smuggling of the artifact during the 1960s, the ministry said.