Why The Met Returned a Roman Bust
Hyperallergic reported that the Metropolitan Museum of Art recently repatriated a marble Roman portrait bust dated to the 2nd century CE after it was traced to Phoenix Ancient Art, a gallery described as notorious within the antiquities trade. The piece by Erin L. Thompson, referenced in the roundup, follows the history of Phoenix Ancient Art’s co-founder, identified as a convicted antiquities dealer, and argues that objects linked to him remain in US museum collections despite questionable provenance. The roundup also highlights a separate story about New York-based tattoo artist Noore Yazigi, who tattoos Arabic calligraphy ranging from Quran excerpts to lines by late Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, and mentions an exhibition of the Children’s Art Carnival legacy and a review of Peter Hujar contact sheets at the Morgan Library & Museum. The Met bust’s removal was visible in-gallery, with the pedestal gone and only the wall label remaining when Thompson visited.
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Auction Fever, Museum Fallout, and Artworld Threats