The repatriation follows extensive provenance research and comes at a time of strengthening collaboration between the Museum and Greece, including major loans for The Met’s forthcoming exhibition Across Wine-Dark Seas: Art and Identity beyond Ancient Greece.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced on September 21, 2026 that it will return a group of objects to the Hellenic Republic, as part of its ongoing efforts to review the ownership histories of objects in its collections.

The return of three works follows new information that emerged through the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s ongoing investigations and The Met’s own provenance research into works that came to the Museum from art dealers who have been under investigation, which contributed to determining that they should be returned to Greece. These works comprise a Hellenistic gold and garnet pendant amphora, Middle Helladic terracotta beak-spouted jug, and a Roman marble head of a veiled man from the first half of the first century CE.

The Met is also returning two helmets and three mitrai, or protective metal guards worn around the waist, that come from the site of Afrati in north central Crete in 1964.Dated to the late seventh century BCE, this Archaic Cretan bronze armor is believed to have been deposited in an Archaic Greek sanctuary at the site of Afrati, where rescue excavations were undertaken by the Greek archaeological service in 1968-1969.

A formal repatriation ceremony was held at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on September 21, attended by Dr. Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture of the Hellenic Republic, and Cate Dillon, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Lucian Simmons, The Met’s Head of Provenance, said, “Our understanding of an object’s history is never static, and new evidence can reshape what we know, helping us reassess provenance, as in the case of these works. This is why sustained research and open dialogue with colleagues around the world are so important, allowing us to clarify the histories of objects and determine the most appropriate way forward.”

Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO, said, “The Met deeply values its productive relationship with our colleagues in Greece, as we continue to work together to deepen the understanding of Greece’s art history and heritage. This spirit of engagement extends even further, including the upcoming Across Wine-Dark Seas—an exhibition which demonstrates the many ways our institutions can create new understandings and connections. The return of these objects reflects the careful inquiry that is integral to our responsibility as a museum and to the stewardship of our collections.”

The Met’s longstanding relationship with Greece extends across object loans, collaborative scholarly research and the shared stewardship of cultural heritage. This ongoing partnership includes a landmark joint agreement for the display of the Stern Collection of Cycladic Art at The Met for 25 years. The upcoming exhibition Across Wine-Dark Seas: Art and Identity beyond Ancient Greece, opening at The Met on December 20, 2026, marks another chapter in this partnership. The exhibition will bring significant loans from Greek archaeological collections to New York, including a bronze head of a Griffin that was repatriated to the Hellenic Republic in 2025. The object will be displayed for the first time with two related griffin heads in the exhibition.