Story behind Türkiye’s recovery of looted Marcus Aurelius statue

ISTANBUL

After a 65-year quest, the return of a Roman-era statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius to Türkiye stands as a landmark victory in the fight to retrieve the artifact looted from the ancient city of Boubon in southwestern Anatolia — a triumph of justice, memory and perseverance.

Carried out in cooperation with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and U.S. Homeland Security investigations, the operation is seen as a milestone in Türkiye’s efforts to combat cultural property trafficking.

"This was one of the hardest cases we’ve ever dealt with," said Zeynep Boz, head of the Department for Combating Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property. "The return claim was initiated by Professor Dr. Jale Inan, Türkiye’s first female archaeologist. It’s an honor to attribute this return to her legacy."

Boz said art repatriation cases often take decades due to legal and evidentiary challenges and that many market countries treat antiquities as investment tools, unlike Türkiye, which views them as part of its cultural identity.

"These objects are not just about ownership; they’re often used in money laundering or to finance terrorism," Boz said. "Repatriating them means not only restoring heritage, but also disrupting global criminal networks."

The collaboration with U.S. authorities began in 2017 when Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos contacted Boz about the Kibele statue.

Although that case was resolved diplomatically, it laid the foundation for a years-long partnership based on mutual trust, she said.

That cooperation culminated in the Boubon investigation, which confirmed the origins of dozens of looted Roman statues, including Marcus Aurelius, through eyewitness testimonies and 3D scanning.

“There was a Cinderella moment,” Boz recalled. “The Manhattan DA’s team was measuring the foot of a statue in New York while we were simultaneously measuring the pedestal in Boubon. The fit was millimeter-perfect.”

Witnesses now in their 80s were persuaded to testify after initial mistrust.

Key evidence also came from the late journalist Özgen Acar, who provided a criminal’s handwritten confession journal detailing the looting.

The statue had been held at the Cleveland Museum of Art before negotiations led to its return.

“When the silicone mold of Marcus’s foot fit perfectly on the original pedestal, that was the moment all efforts were validated,” Boz said.

Addressing criticism that returned artifacts might have been better protected abroad, Boz pushed back against what she called "colonist ideas."

She pointed out that the argument of guardianship often masks the original act of theft.

While Boz acknowledged the need for constant improvement in prevention efforts, she stressed that Türkiye’s current level of preservation “is not that humble.”