Italian government calls on the Louvre to return seven of its archaeological objects

The Italian government has requested the restitution of seven antiquities which it believes were stolen by dealers at the Louvre. 

French newspaper, Le Monde, reported that the claim was made in a letter handed over by Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano in February during a visit to France, a spokesperson for the museum said.

The items which are alleged to have been stolen include a black, 5th-century amphora attributed to the famed “Berlin Painter” and several Greek vases created between the 4th and 6th centuries B.C.E. All seven artefacts were acquired by the Louvre between 1982 and 1998 from dealers who trafficked in stolen material. 

“I consider that works of doubtful provenance are a stain on the collections of the Louvre,” Des Cars, told Le Monde. “We should acknowledge and examine that with rigour and lucidity.” 

Now the museum is investigating the provenance of the items and could return them as soon as this year - if they are proven to be looted. 

Several of the works noted by the culture ministry have links to antiquities dealers active in the 1980s and 1990s, Le Monde reported. 

Some works acquired by the museum between 1982 and 1998, when the standards around provenance research were more lax, can be traced back to dealers Giacomo Medici and Gianfranco Becchina. The two were convicted of fraud in 2005 related to antiquities dealings.

However, in France, cases of restitution are not always simple, and objects owned by state-run institutions are deemed “inalienable,” meaning that removing them requires special approval from Parliament.  

Several new bills pledged to be introduced by the country’s Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak would ease restrictions on restitutions, with one bill already adopted into law. 

A former director of the museum in Paris was charged last year with conspiring to hide the origin of archaeological treasures that investigators suspect were smuggled out of Egypt in the chaos of the Arab Spring.

Jean-Luc Martinez, former Louvre director from, 2013 to 2021, was charged with "facilitating the acquisition of illegally trafficked antiquities by the Louvre Abu Dhabi between 2014 and 2017.

Ruminations are being made by many European countries who are returning stolen artefacts to their native countries.