Shelby White
© Dan Porges/Getty ImagesShelby White was described as a ‘profoundly generous supporter’ of the Met by its director. Treasures worth tens of millions of dollars 'ripped from their countries of origin' found at Manhattan flat of philanthropis.
Scores of looted artefacts worth tens of millions of dollars have been recovered from the home of a prominent trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, it has emerged.

Shelby White, 84, had amassed the collection with her late husband, Leon Levy, a Wall Street investor and philanthropist who died in 2003.


Comment: This may reveal the kind of 'philanthropists' these people were.


But following a lengthy investigation ordered by Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, 71 items have been taken from her home over the past two years, The New York Times reported.

Another 17 have been removed from the Met itself, where they were on loan. One other item was at a third undisclosed location.

In total, the items were valued at nearly $69 million (£53 million) .
Roman emperor Lucius Verus
© Facebook/US Consulate General IstanbulAn ancient bronze statue of the Roman emperor Lucius Verus was found at Shelby White's Manhattan home
However, there is no suggestion that Ms White, nor her late husband, were aware that the items had been stolen before the pair purchased them.


Comment: When purchasing items with such value, assessing provenance and previous ownership is part of the process, and so it's likely that, if they didn't know, it's either because they didn't care, or because they were defrauded.


Investigators working on the case launched a dawn raid on Ms White's Manhattan apartment in June 2021.

Trafficking accusation

They found rooms laden with artefacts some of which, it emerged, had been bought from dealers who were later accused of trafficking in stolen items.

Investigators later said she had co-operated with their work and assisted in returning the items to their countries of origin, which include Turkey and Italy.

"Our investigation into the collector Shelby White has allowed dozens of antiquities that were ripped from their countries of origin to finally return home," Mr Bragg said in April as he announced the return of three of the antiquities, valued at $725,000, to Yemen.

Neolithic Family Group
© Manhattan District AttorneyThe Neolithic Family Group of objects, compromising figures carved from marble, were seized from the Met in March, and are valued at $3 million
Peter Chavkin, Ms White's lawyer, said in a statement she and her late husband had acquired the objects "in good faith, at public auction and from dealers they believed to be reputable".

"From the outset of their collecting, Shelby White and Leon Levy sought to share these treasures with the public, loaning objects to museums and publishing their collection extensively," he said.


Comment: Just 18 of 71 items mentioned were on loan.


"If an item in her collection was shown to have been wrongfully taken by others, Ms White has expeditiously and voluntarily returned it to its rightful place of origin."

Ms White, who forged a reputation as both a philanthropist and expert on ancient art, was just one of the collectors who found themselves embroiled in the scandal.

Anatolian columned sarcophagus
© SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKThe second of four sections of an Anatolian columned sarcophagus is valued at $1 million
"This is the tip of the iceberg. Intense looting was being carried out on an industrial scale in the 1970s and 1980s," Professor David Gill, of the Centre for Heritage at Kent University, said.

"This was providing objects for auction houses and galleries in London and New York which were ending up in public and private collections in North America," he added.

"These items were all purchased in good faith. Just under 900 objects have been returned to Italy as a result of investigations."

bronze bust of a man
© SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKA bronze bust of a man with inlaid eyes valued at $3 million was stolen from Italy
Max Hollein, the Met's director, said last month that Ms White was a "profoundly generous supporter" of the museum.

"She has had an enormous impact at this Museum and many other institutions," he said.

"Shelby's passion for art and philanthropy - and her commitment to the Met - have enabled significant advances in art history and the ongoing expansion of the stories we can tell in the galleries for the benefit of scholars and audiences worldwide."