The Met returns six ancient works to Italy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced on 8 July 2026 that it is returning six ancient works to Italy: a bronze relief of the late sixth century BCE, a marble fish plate of around 400 BCE, two marble dishes of the fourth century BCE, a terracotta psykter-column-krater, and a group of small bronze fibulae and bracelets dated between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE.

The decision followed investigations by the Manhattan District Attorney's office alongside the museum's own provenance research, now handled by a dedicated department under Lucian Simmons. Director and chief executive Max Hollein framed the return as part of a long partnership with Italy, and the country's culture minister Alessandro Giuli was involved. What stands out is the character of the objects. These are not celebrated masterpieces but everyday things severed from their archaeological context, which says more about how twentieth-century collections were assembled than any single famous restitution case does.