Looted Figurine of a Female Deity, Once Owned by a Met Trustee, Returned to Turkey

An ancient figurine of a female deity, once held in the collection of longtime Met donor and trustee Shelby White, has been returned to Turkey.

The artifact, a miniature stone statue of a seated figure, resurfaced in the US as part of a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office into the origin of art and objects in the collection of White.

The repatriation was facilitated by officials of the Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, overseen by Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. Esroy’s administration included the piece in a display at the Karatay Madrasa Ceramic Art Museum in Konya.

The latest return is part of a wider push by Turkish cultural officials to recover artifacts stolen from Turkey, and often illegally exported outside its borders. In 2022, Turkey signed an agreement with Switzerland to address issues related to the trafficking of antiquities in the international art market.

Turkey’s cultural property campaigning comes amid declining tourism numbers. According to visitor statistics published by the department this year, Turkey reported that between 2014 and 2023, international visitors coming to the country had fallen by 17 percent from 1.8 million to 1.5 million.

Ömer Faruk Türkan, Director of Konya Museums, who spoke at the exhibition’s opening about the Turkey’s repatriation efforts, emphasized its numerous historic sites, once home to diverse group’s of people, plundered of their valuables over decades.

“This land is home to countless civilizations,” he said.

The return of the figurine is part of a wider probe around the provenance of artifacts in White’s collection initiated in 2022 by New York authorities. By 2023, several items were repatriated to Turkey and Italy after being seized from White’s Manhattan home.

The female figurine was returned following extensive legal and diplomatic negotiations. Before going on display in Konya, it was on view at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.