Thai Antiquities, MFA

If this article is accurate, the Museum of Fine Arts may have another antiquity problem on its hands.

The issue, as reported by Jori Finkel, is related to a series of recent museum raids:

The investigation could also have broad implications for other museums across the country. In the affidavits filed to obtain search warrants, the agents laid the groundwork for a legal argument that virtually all Ban Chiang material in the United States is stolen property.

In essence, the paperwork states, antiquities that left Thailand after 1961, when the country enacted its antiquities law, could be considered stolen under American law. And since Ban Chiang material was not excavated until well after that date, practically all Ban Chiang material in the United States could qualify.

Why is the MFA in the mix? Because, Finkel reports, it is one of many museums with these artifacts in its collection.