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Ancient Roman Bust Seized from Massachusetts Museum in Looting Probe 

The bust known as “Portrait of a Lady” was acquired in 1966 by the Worcester Art Museum. (Worcester Art Museum)
The bust known as “Portrait of a Lady” was acquired in 1966 by the Worcester Art Museum. (Worcester Art Museum)
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Ancient Roman Bust Seized from Massachusetts Museum in Looting Probe 

The bust known as “Portrait of a Lady” was acquired in 1966 by the Worcester Art Museum. (Worcester Art Museum)
The bust known as “Portrait of a Lady” was acquired in 1966 by the Worcester Art Museum. (Worcester Art Museum)

A bronze bust believed to depict the daughter of an ancient Roman emperor has been seized from an art museum in Massachusetts by New York authorities investigating antiquities stolen from Türkiye.

The seizure is the latest in an ongoing investigation into a smuggling network involving objects looted from Bubon in southwestern Türkiye and trafficked through Manhattan. A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not provide further details of the investigation.

The bust known as “Portrait of a Lady” was acquired in 1966 by the Worcester Art Museum about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Boston. The seizure comes weeks after the Manhattan district attorney’s office seized a statue thought to portray the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius from a Cleveland, Ohio, museum.

Worcester Art Museum officials said in a statement that the bust taken from their possession dates from A.D. 160 to 180 and is believed to be a life-sized portrayal of a daughter of Marcus Aurelius or another Roman emperor, Septimius Severus.

Museum officials said they had “limited information” about the bust’s history when they acquired it nearly six decades ago.

“We are very thankful for the new information provided to us,” said Matthias Waschek, the museum’s director. “The ethical standards applicable to museums are much changed since the 1960s, and the Museum is committed to managing its collection consistent with modern ethical standards.”

The bust shows a young woman with a heavy-lidded gaze and hair carefully combed into waves.

Marcus Aurelius ruled as Roman emperor from A.D. 161 to 180 and was a Stoic philosopher whose “Meditations” have been studied over the centuries. Septimius Severus’ reign from A.D. 193 to 211 was marked by his efforts to convert the government into a military monarchy.

Türkiye first made claims about the Marcus Aurelius statue in 2012 when it released a list of nearly two dozen objects in the Cleveland museum’s collection that it said had been looted from Bubon and other locations. Museum officials said at the time that Türkiye had provided no hard evidence of looting.

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Culture

Germans Arrested for Louvre Stunt in Mona Lisa Hall

A person photographs Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum, Aug. 31, 2025, in Paris. (AP)
A person photographs Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum, Aug. 31, 2025, in Paris. (AP)
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Germans Arrested for Louvre Stunt in Mona Lisa Hall

A person photographs Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum, Aug. 31, 2025, in Paris. (AP)
A person photographs Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum, Aug. 31, 2025, in Paris. (AP)

Two Germans were arrested Saturday after they stuck two paintings on a wall of the hall that hosts the Mona Lisa in Paris's Louvre museum, police sources said.

The two men used sticky tape to stick the two paintings -- measuring 30 by 40 cm -- in the hall where visitors flock to see Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece.

One showed one of the two men wearing armor, while the other was a portrait of the two men accompanied by a woman.

Security officers at the museum detained the two men and called the police, who arrested them for minor damage to the wall. Interviewed by police, they said they had done it for fun.

The two men will be summoned to appear in court once the museum files a formal complaint for the damage, said the police sources.

The Mona Lisa itself, now behind a thick layer of protective glass, suffered no damage in the incident.

Museum officials are more than usually alert these days after a spate of heists at French museums and galleries, which have highlighted inadequate security in some cases and led to questions about whether criminal gangs see them as soft targets.

The Louvre itself was targeted last October when eight items of jewelry worth millions of dollars were stolen during a daylight heist.

Even though four suspects have been arrested, the stolen items have still not been found despite extensive searches by French investigators.

The burglary stunned the world, embarrassed France and revealed a series of security lapses, including the museum's old-fashioned CCTV system.

Many of the museum's security flaws had already been highlighted in a 2019 audit ordered by the museum, the findings of which were never acted on.

The Louvre welcomed around nine million visitors last year, far above its intended capacity, which has led to overcrowding problems.

In May, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a major overhaul of the museum, which will include a new space for the Mona Lisa and a new museum entrance.

Culture

Saudi Culture Ministry, ALECSO Sign Executive Program for Intangible Cultural Heritage

The agreement focuses on organizing a specialized symposium to exchange expertise on safeguarding policies, methodologies, and practices. SPA
The agreement focuses on organizing a specialized symposium to exchange expertise on safeguarding policies, methodologies, and practices. SPA
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Saudi Culture Ministry, ALECSO Sign Executive Program for Intangible Cultural Heritage

The agreement focuses on organizing a specialized symposium to exchange expertise on safeguarding policies, methodologies, and practices. SPA
The agreement focuses on organizing a specialized symposium to exchange expertise on safeguarding policies, methodologies, and practices. SPA

The Ministry of Culture has signed an executive program with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) to establish a cooperative framework to safeguard intangible cultural heritage and advance shared Arab cultural goals.

Thursday’s agreement focuses on organizing a specialized symposium to exchange expertise on safeguarding policies, methodologies, and practices.

It also includes formulating recommendations for bilateral and multilateral cooperation and showcasing living Arab heritage practices on the international stage to unify regional preservation efforts.

Building upon a 2022 memorandum of understanding between the ministry and ALECSO, the executive program underscores both parties' commitment to broadening institutional partnerships that ensure the long-term protection and sustainability of intangible cultural heritage.

Culture

Visual Arts Commission Marks Saudi National Day with Cultural Campaign

Visual Arts Commission logo
Visual Arts Commission logo
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Visual Arts Commission Marks Saudi National Day with Cultural Campaign

Visual Arts Commission logo
Visual Arts Commission logo

The Visual Arts Commission has launched a cultural campaign for Saudi National Day, evoking national memory, culture, and shared lived experiences through visual art.

Centered around the question "What is a homeland?", the initiative explores how art intersects with the details of everyday life, inviting community members to contribute their personal stories, reflections, and cherished memories to the national narrative.

By positioning art as a platform for self-expression and cultural reflection, the initiative highlights individual experiences that shape collective Saudi identity.

The campaign aligns with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives to support culture and the arts, expand their footprint in society, and reinforce national heritage within the Kingdom's evolving cultural and artistic landscape.