Manhattan DA Returns Three Antiquities to Mexico

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office repatriated three pre-Columbian antiquities to Mexico on July 15, including a 1,600-year-old Nayarit ceramic figure formerly held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The objects were seized following investigations by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit. The other items are a Xochipala Bowl (c. 1200–900 BCE) from New York's Merrin Gallery, seized in 2025, and an obsidian stone core (c. 1000–1500 CE) previously owned by convicted trafficker Eugene Alexander. The three artifacts are valued at over $160,000. The DA's office has now returned 52 antiquities to Mexico, worth over $13 million. Recent seizures from The Met total $95 million in looted artifacts. Consul General Marcos Bucio represented Mexico at the repatriation ceremony, emphasizing cultural sovereignty. Met Director Max Hollein thanked authorities for provenance clarification. The Met's provenance research team, doubled in size since 2023, collaborates with the DA's unit. DA Bragg stated trafficking networks identified are responsible for other looted pieces in Mexico.