Are museums accomplice smugglers?

Governments, law enforcement officials, and researchers have linked a large number of the Met’s pieces to looters and traffickers. While the Met has voluntarily returned some items, prosecutors have seized others.

Records suggest that 1,109 pieces were previously owned by people indicted or convicted for antiquities crimes or their galleries. Evidence suggests that the Met consistently turned a blind eye to sellers that they knew had questionable practices. Noted former director Thomas Hoving: being an “accomplice smuggler” was a necessary role for a Met director.