D.A. Bragg Announces Return Of Nine Antiquities To Poland And Italy

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the return of one antiquity to the people of the people of Poland, and eight antiquities to the people of Italy. These objects were seized pursuant to multiple ongoing investigations into looting during World War II and trafficking networks targeting Italian cultural heritage.

On October 15, the Office repatriated a 4^th century glass fragment to Poland. This piece was part of an early Christian cult vessel that depicts four people in gold. It was displayed at Gołuchów Castle beginning in the 1890s. At the outbreak of World War II, the Gołuchów collection, including the glass fragment, was hidden by Princess Maria Ludwika Czartoryska behind a bricked-up wall in her basement. In 1941, the Nazis interrogated the Princess and discovered the collection. The glass fragment was kept at the National Museum in Warsaw until the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, when the Nazis destroyed the city and plundered its art.

Elżbieta Rogowska, Deputy Director of Department of Cultural Heritage in the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, said: "The scale of the looting of Polish cultural goods lost as a result of World War II has made their restitution an endless challenge. However, the return of each recovered monument is always a cause for great joy. We are deeply grateful to the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the New York County District Attorney's Office for yet another joint success in this field."

The antiquities repatriated to Italy on October 21, which includes one manuscript, include:

• Peirush Megilath Esther (Commentary on the Book of Esther) by Elisha Gallico, printed in Venice by Giovanni di Gara in 1583. The book was part of the Talmud and Torah Library of Rome, an institutional cornerstone of Jewish scholarly life in Rome from the seventeenth century through the early twentieth century. During the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1943, the Nazis systematically plundered this book and approximately 7,000 other volumes from Jewish Community Library. The Antiquities Trafficking Unit seized the book at an auction in New York in 2025.
• Bronze statuette of Aphrodite, from the 1^st century C.E., depicts the goddess removing her sandal. The Statuette first appeared with antiquities trafficker Fuat Üzülmez, who sold it to Fortuna Fine Arts-a gallery currently under indictment in federal court for fraud. Fortuna then falsely claimed that the Statuette came from Boris Mussienko, a name frequently used by Fortuna and other galleries in its false provenance. Thereafter, the Statuette was sold to a private collector who placed the antiquity on loan at the Met. The Antiquities Trafficking Unit seized the Statuette from the Met in 2025.

Fabrizio Di Michele, Consul General of Italy in New York, stated: "Today's success is yet another occasion to celebrate the exceptional cooperation between Italy and the United States, and notably the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. The return of these priceless artifacts is a testament to our shared commitment to the protection of archeological artworks and justice. We are deeply grateful to the Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale and our American partners for their steadfast efforts and solid partnership which has allowed the repatriation of hundreds of artworks in the past few years."

During District Attorney Bragg's tenure, the ATU has recovered approximately 2,400 antiquities stolen from 47 countries and valued at $260 million. Since its creation, the ATU has convicted 18 individuals of cultural property-related crimes, recovered approximately 6,100 antiquities valued at $480 million, and has returned approximately 5,770 of them so far to 32 countries.

The investigations were conducted by Chief of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit and Senior Trial Counsel Matthew Bogdanos, and Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Studley; Investigative Analysts Giuditta Giardini, Michael Chapin, Charlotte Looram, and Grace Vieaux; District Attorney Investigator John Paul Labbat; and Special Agent Robert Mancene of Homeland Security Investigations. Investigative support was provided by Kacper Białkowski of the Division for Restitution of Cultural Goods, in the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. We would like to thank the Met, Daniel Kestenbaum, James Kempster, Robert Loncar, and Fortuna Fine Arts for their cooperation with the investigation.

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