Boston Museum Returns Looted 2,700-Year-Old Necklace to Turkey

An ancient gold and carnelian necklace that was looted nearly half a century ago is finally returning to its rightful home.

The artifact dates from the period between 550 and 450 BC. and was featured in the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston for decades. This month the museum pledged to return the necklace, which was likely stolen from a Turkish archaeological site in 1976.

According to a., the museum acquired the necklace in 1982 statement of the MFA. At the time, officials only knew where it came from Asia Minoran area that includes modern-day Turkey, and that it was probably found near a grave.

“For years, participants in the art trade did not actually ask many questions about provenance,” Victoria Reed, The MFA’s senior curator for provenance, explains the Boston sphere‘S Julian EJ Sorapuru. “It is not unusual in the 1980s for us to have acquired something – as every museum has acquired – without really delving deeper into the ownership history. And jewelry in particular is very, very difficult to trace.”

A few years ago, a scientist suggested that the MFA review the provenance of the 2,700-year-old necklace. The scholar, who wished to remain anonymous, had noticed similarities between the necklace in Boston and similar jewelry found at Bintepeler, an archaeological site in western Turkey with more than 100 burial mounds.

Archaeologists unearthed the Bintepeler artifacts in 1976 after reports of looting in the region. Today, most of these objects are located in Turkey archaeological museum of Manisa. When the MFA started its own investigation, researchers concluded that the chain may also have come from Bintepeler.

“It appears that the elements that made up our necklace were probably smuggled out of the country and then strung together to form this piece of jewelry,” Reed tells Tammy Mutasa. WBZ TVa local TV station. “We always try to return [artifacts to] their rightful owner, whether that owner is an individual, a community or a nation.”

Phoebe Segalthe MFA’s senior curator of ancient Greek and Roman art, tells the Boston sphere that other clues pointed researchers in the right direction. For example, the chain is unusually short, measuring only eight inches.

“I think if we were to approach this now, we would say, ‘Why is this chain so small?’” Segal adds.

In recent years, museums, cultural institutions and collectors have faced increasing pressure to repatriate stolen works of art to their countries of origin. Earlier this month, a collector challenged the Manhattan district attorney’s attempt to seize an artifact possibly stolen from Turkey in the 1960s.

Meanwhile, museums like the MFA are actively working with cultural heritage officials from other countries in repatriation efforts.

“The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, together with its institutional and academic partners, is making great efforts to protect and restore Turkey’s cultural heritage,” said Hilal DemirelAttaché for Cultural Affairs and Promotion at the Turkish Ministry of Culture, per Artnet‘s Jo Lawson-Tancred. “The return of an object illegally removed from Turkey is a symbolic moment that sends a powerful message to the world, highlighting the importance of international cooperation in protecting cultural heritage.”