Italy seizes ancient artworks worth €10 million from the U.S.

As current chairholder of the G20, Italy has been encouraging a crackdown on the illegal art trade.

The works were found in auction houses, museums and other U.S. locations.

Italian authorities have secured illicitly sourced works of art and artefacts worth a total of €10 million ($11.3 million), they announced on December 30. The works were found in the United States and were seized in cooperation with U.S. authorities, according to a statement from the Carabinieri. The 201 pieces included antique sculptures, amphorae, vases and terracotta busts, and many date back to the Roman and Etruscan periods.

"Investigators have reconstructed a chain leading from illegal excavations to art dealers to U.S. museums, auction houses, art galleries and private collections," said Roberto Riccardi, the commander of the Carabinieri cultural protection unit. Most of the objects were returned to Italy and the remainder are with the Italian Consulate General in New York.

Italian Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini said it was an "extraordinary recovery" and said all seized objects would be returned to their place of origin. The Carabinieri have seized almost 1,700 fake works of art and more than 23,600 archaeological objects so far this year, worth an estimated total of more than €427 million euros. About 1,190 people have come under investigation.

As the current holder of the G20 chairmanship, Italy has enlisted the other member nations to crack down on the illegal trade of art and artefacts. According to Italy's ANSA news agency, the latest seizure includes a large seventh-century BC Etruscan pithos from the Getty, and another large vessel from a famous archaeological site at Paestum south of Naples. The Carabinieri worked with the FBI for several years to trace the artifacts, ANSA reported. According to Italian media, several pieces came from New York's Fordham Museum.

aw/msh (dpa)