Art Blog

Case in Italy suggests MFA received stolen art

From left, a two-handled jar depicting the murder of Atreus, a portrait statue of Sabina, and a vase for bath water. Photographs of these were seized in raids. (Museum of Fine Arts)

By Geoff Edgers and Sofia Celeste

Italian prosecutors preparing for this month's high-profile antiquities smuggling trial in Rome have seized photographs of three ancient objects -- a vase, a jar, and a statue -- that could make the strongest case yet that Boston's Museum of Fine Arts acquired stolen art in the last 25 years.

The evidence, which has surfaced in connection with Italy's decades-long attempt to force American museums to return looted art, has led the investigators to compile an additional list of 29 objects in the MFA's collection that they suspect were taken from ancient sites largely throughout Italy. ...

http://www.boston.com