MET Museum holds more than a thousand antiquities linked to drug trafficking

A new investigation conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in collaboration with UK-based non-profit Finance Uncovered has revealed that New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has more than 1,000 objects linked to individuals "indicted or convicted of crimes relating to antiquities.” The organization's report, published on March 20, focused on the provenance of the MET's collection of antiquities and the continued acquisition of historical cultural artifacts despite the introduction in several countries of laws prohibiting their export. "In the antiques trade," the report's authors wrote, "the MET's reputation has begun to erode."

“The MET sets the tone for museums around the world,” Tess Davis, executive director of the Antiquities Coalition, which aims to stop the trafficking of cultural artifacts, told ICIJ. “If the MET is letting all these things slip away, what hope do we have for the rest of the art market?”

Investigators found 1,109 relics in the museum's collection that are linked to trafficking, nearly a third of which are currently on display. Less than half of the objects are accompanied by records detailing how they arrived in New York. Among them are antiques from countries where the export of such items has long been strictly prohibited. Museum records confirm that some objects were transported to the US even after guidelines were put in place. The investigation has placed the museum's collection of Nepalese and Kashmiri antiquities under special scrutiny "because Nepal and Kashmir has suffered heavy looting that has received relatively little international news coverage." Of the more than 250 objects from these regions named in the museum's catalogue, only three were accompanied by records that limit their provenance.

“The MET is committed to the responsible collection of art and goes to great lengths to ensure that all works entering the collection comply with the strict laws and policies in effect at the time of acquisition,” said MET spokesman Kenneth Weine. “In addition, as collection laws and guidelines have changed over time, the Museum's policies and procedures have changed as well. The MET also continually researches the history of works in the collection – often in collaboration with colleagues in countries around the world – and has a long history of acting on new information as appropriate.”