As the subject of repatriation continues to dominate cultural heritage conversations, a New York court has entered the fray with a ruling on the future of an ancient artefact from Turkey. On 8 March, Judge Raymond Lohier denied an appeal filed by the Republic of Turkey, determining that the country has not sufficiently proven ownership of a 6,000-year-old marble idol titled “the Stargazer” in its quest to recover the object. This decision puts an end to a years-long attempt by the Turkish government to bring the “Stargazer” back to its place of origin.
The idol in question currently resides in the collection of controversial hedge fund billionaire Michael Steinhardt, whose extensive trove of antiquities has been the subject of several lawsuits. In September of 2021, Alison J. Nathan of Manhattan's Federal District Court ruled that Turkey could not recover the object, claiming that the nation had “slept on its rights” in its wait to make a claim.
In the initial suit, Turkey cited a 1906 decree mandating that all antiquities sourced in the country be considered state property, a legal bid Judge Nathan dismissed as “insufficient evidence”, since no provenance could be established before 1961, when the idol was purchased by tennis legend Alastair B. Martin from New York-based dealer J. J. Klejman.
The idol, which had previously been displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, went up for auction in 2017 at Christie’s, inspiring the Turkish government to sue both the auction house and Steinhardt in an attempt at recovery. While the “Stargazer” was reportedly purchased for $14.4m at the time of auction, the buyer backed out after hearing of the burgeoning restitution claim.
In its appeal, Turkey claimed the district court “muddled New York Law” by “misallocating the burden of proof”, an argument that was refuted by Judges Lohier and Rosemary Pooler. In her conclusion, Pooler said, “Equity favours the vigilant. But in this case, because Turkey slept on its rights, we affirm the judgement of the district court.”
Christie’s reported that the object is one of only 15 complete “Stargazers” figures in existence; the nine-inch marble, like many of its ilk, was originally “slashed” at the neck, implying that it was ritualistically “killed” in ancient rites.