Today our founder had the honor of attending the repatriation ceremony of the Golden Coffin of Nedjemankh to the nation of Egypt. Leila served as the Egyptian cultural heritage law expert for the Manhattan DA’s Office for the repatriation of this spectacular object. The coffin was looted in 2011 and purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the “Met”) in 2017 for $4 million. During today’s repatriation ceremony, the DA quite appropriately addressed the importance of due diligence and a commitment to recognizing red flags for stolen antiquities. In this matter, the coffin went on the market and was purchased by the Met in 2017, six years after the start of the Egyptian Revolution. In addition, the magnificent artifact had never been published or studied by scholars. And finally, the paperwork that accompanied the coffin was forged. With proper due diligence and confirming the veracity of the papers, the forged nature of the documentation could have been uncovered. As noted during today’s ceremony, there are ties between criminal networks and the illicit antiquities market, and so it is important to avoid the purchase of stolen items. The District Attorney also acknowledged the Met’s cooperation in returning the priceless object.
The exquisite coffin is now returning to Egypt where it will be exhibited in a state museum. Eventually it will be displayed in the Grand Egyptian Museum after its opening in 2020. As noted by the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the coffin is returning to its home, but it is valuable to all mankind.
Our founder, Leila Amineddoleh, worked as a cultural heritage law expert with the Manhattan DA’s Office in furtherance of the repatriation of a looted coffin from Egypt. Yesterday it was announced that the Metropolitan Museum of Art would return the exquisite coffin to Egypt. The prized golden-sheathed artifact was featured in an exhibition, “Nedjemankh and His Gilded Coffin,” that opened last year. The 1st BC century coffin was inscribed for Nedjemankh, a high-ranking priest of the ram-headed god Heryshef of Herakleopolis. The museum featured the coffin as the highlight of an exhibition, set to close on April 21. However, it was closed earlier this week after the museum agreed to repatriate the object after learning that it was looted from Egypt in 2011.
The museum purchased the item for $3.95 million from Parisian art dealer Christophe Kunicki in 2017. The coffin was accompanied by false provenance information suggesting that the item was legally exported. But in reality, the work was recently looted and smuggled out of the Middle Eastern country in contravention of its cultural heritage laws.
The museum publicly announced the high-profile repatriation and stated that it will review its acquisition program to prevent such occurrences in the future. In 2017, the Manhattan DA’s Office formed the nation’s first antiquities trafficking unit. Ms. Amineddoleh is proud to consult with the trafficking unit as a cultural heritage law expert. Led by Matthew Bogdanos, the unit has facilitated a number of repatriations from the Metropolitan Museum of Art within the past few years, including the return of an Etruscan vessel and a marble bull’s head from Lebanon.
With the soaring prices of art, it’s essential that buyers protect their purchases. The Clarion List featured Amineddoleh & Associates LLC for our advice to collectors in the group’s 2017 resolution article, “2017 Resolutions You Must Make.” The article provides advice to art collectors. As always, we recommend that our clients complete due diligence prior to purchases in order to protect art assets. Read the article here.
On Sunday, I had the honor of speaking at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on a panel of art experts. We discussed collecting strategies with museum members. The takeaway: do your due diligence. Whether you are purchasing antiquities or fine art, it is essential to research art prior to purchase. In all cases, due diligence helps to ensure that art purchases will retain their value and provides collectors with confidence in their acquisitions.
In the case that a collector buys a stolen work, it may later be seized, leaving the purchaser with limited remedies, if any. It is important for collectors to research legal title and any defects on an object.
Forged objects generally don’t have much value. Whereas an authentic Monet may be worth tens of millions of dollars, a forged work in the style of Monet may only be worth a couple thousand dollars, if that. Due to the discrepancy in prices, collectors (at a particular price point) are advised to conduct due diligence to ensure the authenticity of a potential purchase.
In terms of antiquities, works without a clear provenance (history of ownership) and provenience (find spot) information may be illegal to privately own, deeming the object vulnerable to seizure by national and foreign governments. (In addition, purchasing looted works may be creating greater demand for plundered antiquities, leading to further illicit excavations). Purchase must ensure that they aren’t buying objects from the black market by working with legal experts.
Even when buying works by living artists, due diligence is necessary. It is important for collectors to work with reputable dealers and representatives to ensure that they have all necessary paperwork concerning an object’s authenticity and attribution.
In addition to the ownership practicalities, it is important to become more educated about the art market. Collectors should work with experts and investing time to build valuable relationships in order to navigate the market to build a collection that has the potential to last for generations.
