The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Italian Ministry for Cultural Assets and Activities have reached an agreement in which 14 ancient artworks suspected of having been looted and sold illegally to foreign collectors will be returned to Italy. The pieces include four (and possibly a fifth) from Puglia dating to the 4th Century BC.

“This transfer demonstrates our commitment to build and maintain a collection of art from around the world and across time that is acquired in good faith using the highest ethical standards and after rigorous provenance research,” Timothy Rub, director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, said in a joint press release. As part of the agreement, the Ministry of Culture said it would loan a similar number of works of equal aesthetic and historical significance from its collections for study and display in Cleveland.

Italy’s Cultural Minister, Sandro Bondi, said, “I am very happy for such a success and for the agreement reached between the Ministry for Cultural Assets and Activities and the Cleveland Museum of Art. I wish to thank Director Rub for his collaboration and farsightedness, and I am sure this will be only the beginning of a long and productive cooperation that will be an example for all the museums in the world.” Bondi told La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno that the 14 works will be sent to Italy within three months, then exhibited in a national show before being returned to their regions of origin for display in archeological museums.

Objects that will be returned include:

• Apulian Volute-Krater, Darius Painter (Italian) circa 330 BC (in photo above)

• Apulian Gnathia Flat-Bodied Epichysis, Italy, Middle Gnathia, 4th Century BC 340-320 BC

• Apulian Gnathia Round-Bellied Epichysis, Italy, Middle Gnathia, 4th Century BC circa 340-320 BC

• Apulian Gnathia Lekythos, Italy, Middle Gnathia, 4th Century BC 340-330 BC

Apulian (or Campanian) Red-Figure Lid with Bowl, South Italy, Apulia, 4th Century BC

Photo courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Art