Looted from Türkiye, US authorities seize Marcus Aurelius statue

A headless bronze statue believed to depict the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius was ordered seized from the Cleveland Museum of Art by New York authorities investigating antiquities looted from Türkiye.

A warrant signed by a judge in Manhattan on Aug. 14 ordered the seizure of the statue, which the museum acquired in 1986 and had been a highlight of its collection of ancient Roman art.

The warrant was secured as part of an ongoing investigation into a smuggling network involving antiquities looted from Bubon in southwestern Türkiye and trafficked through Manhattan, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said

. No details of the investigation were provided.

The 76-inch (1.9-meter) statue dates from A.D. 180 to 200 and is worth $20 million, according to the district attorney's office.

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported that the statue was removed from view more than two months ago and that the museum changed the description of the piece on its website, where it now calls the statue a "Draped Male Figure " instead of indicating a connection to Marcus Aurelius.

Türkiye first made claims about the statue in 2012 when it released a list of nearly two dozen objects in the Cleveland museum's collection that it said had been looted from Bubon and other locations. Museum officials said at the time that Turkey had provided no hard evidence of looting.

"The enduring dispute surrounding this matter has kept him separated from his hometown," said Zeynep Boz from the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry.

In an emailed statement, Boz said the seizure "provides a strong sense of hope, long-awaited, for the rectification of a willing wrongdoing."

Todd Mesek, a spokesperson for the...