Alexander bust to be returned to Rome

At some time before 1959, a head of Alexander the Great found during the excavations of the Forum Romanum in Rome in the early 1900's was stolen from the Forense Museum in that city.

[Picture from Archaeology News Network]

The head travelled all across Europe and eventually made its way to New York. The Alan Safani Gallery in Manhattan had purchased it in 2017 from a London gallery. The transaction took place in good faith based on the documentation about the provenance of the bust.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigating looted antiquities, however, traced this head as it lacked the kind of documentation that normally travels with artifacts leaving Italy. They found that it was sold at auction by Sotheby’s in 1974 and again in 2011. This kind of pattern seems to be typical for looted items as they “disappear” from the country of origin and reappear several years later in another country without the proper supporting paperwork. The ensuing questionable sale is meant to create some form of ownership history.

Although this Alexander head has been dated to early 300 BC, i.e. not so long after his death in 323 BC, it is not one of the finest examples. Anyway, let’s hope that it will soon find a well deserved place in the rich collection of one of Rome’s famed museums.