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Private art collectors in the United States possess 

 ancient Greek, Roman and related Classical objects. And yet most American museums, if offered those items as gifts, would turn them down.

This Athenian Red-figure Volute Krater was acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1983, but later found likely to have been illegally excavated. The MIA has since returned the item to the Italian government, via Homeland Security.

Image courtesy the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

, which included an interview with a Twin Cities collector.

Here at MPR we've reported on the particular issues surrounding provenance, and how the Minneapolis Institute of Arts works to ensure it's not collecting items that were smuggled out of their original homes. And how sometimes it's been obliged to to return items that have been in its collection for years.

Interested in learning more? Check out these stories 

Arts and Culture

State of the Arts Blog

Marianne Combs

Author

Museums such as the Minneapolis Institute of Arts are often forced to decline gifts of art if they can't determine whether the item was legally put on the market.

Why museums often shy from taking donated works

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