By Roxana Wang
Shelby White is exactly the person you would expect to have invaluable kraters in her cupboard. The 85-year-old investor, philanthropist, collector, and trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art was highly invested in antiquities. One of her major contributions to the studies of antiquities is her generosity to the MET: in 1995, she and her husband donated $20 million to the MET for the construction of its Greek and Roman Art gallery.[1] This is how the gallery, opened in 2007, became “the Leon Levy and Shelby White Court.”[2]
White’s dazzling public figure was dimmed by the shady side of her private antiquities collection. Between June 2021 and March 2023, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized 89 stolen antiquities from White, valued at $69 million and originating from 10 different countries.[3] This is not the first time White’s treasure got into trouble. In 2008, White returned 10 rare Greek and Etruscan pieces to Italy and Greece.[4] The dubious provenance of her loans to the MET also raised doubts as early as 1990. Shelby White’s case is a good setting to discuss the obligation of private antiquities collectors and of the museums embracing their loans and donations.
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