Blac-figure painted amphora, Greece, 6th century BC

It has been a pleasure for Amineddoleh & Associates LLC to have worked on the important repatriation and loan agreement between the Italian Ministry of Culture (Italy) and the Worcester Art Museum (the Museum). It is a wonderful example of how ethical museum practices build strong relationships with foreign governments.

The Museum and Italy announced today that they have entered into a long-term loan agreement as part of the Museum’s voluntary return of two objects from its collection. Earlier this year, the Museum hired its first Provenance Research Specialist to identify provenance gaps and conduct new research into its collections. As a result of this work, the Museum identified two antiquities acquired in the mid-1950s—a black-figure amphora (storage jar) and a kylix (drinking cup)—that appeared to have been unlawfully removed from Italy.

The Museum made the ethical decision to voluntarily return the works to Italy. Amineddoleh & Associates worked with the Museum and Italy to draft the terms of a new cultural cooperation agreement. As part of the agreement, the Museum will display the two items as long-term loans for a period of four to eight years. After this loan period, these objects will be returned to Italy in exchange for a loan of comparable antiquities from Italian museums. The loans will recur on a rotating basis. This is the first such agreement of its kind for the Museum.

Kylix (drinking cup), Greece, 6th century BC

This project is part of the Museum’s ongoing provenance work, performed by Daniel W. Healey, the institution’s inaugural Provenance Research Specialist, under the leadership of Claire Whitner, the Museum’s Director of Curatorial Affairs and James A. Welu Curator of European Art. Hired in early 2024, Healey is responsible for researching the provenance of antiquities and other artworks in the Museum’s collections, advising on acquisitions, loans, and deaccessions, and developing new ways of sharing the histories of WAM’s collections with the public.

While the Museum is pleased to have the items on loan, the Italian Ministry of Culture also released a statement, expressing its appreciation. “The Ministry of Culture can only express its utmost appreciation for the Museum’s voluntary decision to return to Italy two finely crafted archaeological artefacts of Attic production. This gesture marks the beginning of an agreement that will engage the Museum and the Italian Ministry of Culture in a fruitful policy of loans and cultural exchanges that will contribute to raising awareness of the issues of illicit art trafficking.”

You can read the full joint press release HERE. Congratulations to the Museum and the Italian Ministry of Culture!