Recovered Treasures

The exhibition Recovered Treasures was organized by the Italian Chairmanship of the OSCE in partnership with the Carabinieri Unit for the Protection of Cultural Heritage to showcase Italy’s efforts in the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property.

From 30 May until 8 July, 2018, a selection of archaeological artefacts seized by the Carabinieri Unit for the Protection of Cultural Heritage will be displayed in the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna.

The exhibition consists of a selection of twenty-one artifacts which were either stolen or illegally excavated before being identified and recovered by the Carabinieri through international judicial investigations and police cooperation efforts.

The exposition includes, for example, the only free-standing sculpture of the Capitoline deities Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, a funerary relief from Palmyra and two marble portrait heads stolen from an Italian museum during WWII and eventually found in the United States and repatriated in 2017.

During the first and final week of the exhibition two Carabinieri will be at the Museum to provide visitors with information on their work to combat the illicit trafficking in cultural property and guide them through the exhibition.