#max hollein

Less than two years after an acquisition, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that it had handed over a first-century BC gilded coffin to the Manhattan district attorney for return to the Egyptian government after discovering that it had been looted in 2011.

The Met’s statement said it had been “fully cooperative” in recent months with an investigation by the district attorney’s office into the coffin’s origins.

The museum acquired the coffin of Nedjemankh, which was until this week the centrepiece of a Met exhibition, in July 2017 from what it then described as a private collection. The institution says it now realises that it was given a fraudulent ownership history as well as a forged 1971 Egyptian export license for the coffin.

Frida Escobedo’s Architectural Weaving at the Met The metaphor of weaving serves as a profound inspiration for Frida Escobedo’s design of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s eagerly awaited new wing dedicated to Modern and Contemporary art, unveiled on Tuesday. This concept is vividly reflected in various elements of the design, most notably in the architectural screen made of limestone lattice that…

Met returns three artworks looted under British colonial rule to Nigeria

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Visitors walk along the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, March 6, 2006. REUTERS/Keith Bedford/File Photo New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday officially returned three works of art to Nigeria that were looted in the 19th century, as museums make increasing efforts to repatriate some foreign treasures. The two 16th-century brass plaques and a…

TheMet150: “Making Marvels: Science and Splendor at the Courts of Europe”

Between 1550 and 1750, nearly every royal family in Europe assembled vast collections of exquisite and entertaining objects. Lavish public spending and the display of precious metals were important expressions of power, and possessing artistic and technological innovations conveyed status. In fact, advancements in art, science, and technology were often prominently showcased in elaborate…

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Receives Exceptional Bequest from Jayne Wrightsman, Trustee Emerita and Generous Benefactor

The historic bequest includes over $80 million and more than 375 paintings, sculptures, works on paper, decorative art objects, and rare books

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today (November 13, 2019) an exceptional bequest of over 375 works from the late Jayne Wrightsman (1919–2019), Trustee Emerita and one of the most generous Benefactors in the Museum’s history. The bequest…