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Argentina Court Orders Return of Looted €250,000 Portrait

9/5/2026

22 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Argentina's court approved returning the looted portrait to heir Marei von Saher.
Patricia Kadgien and Juan Carlos Cortegoso abandoned their claim to avoid trial.
They will be supervised for two years.
They each must pay 2.4 million pesos to a Mar del Plata hospital.
The painting, valued at about €250,000, was re-attributed to Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti.

History

Historical Context

In 1970 UNESCO adopted a convention obliging parties to return looted cultural property. Over the decades the agency expanded its heritage program, listing sites in Argentina and dozens of other nations, creating a global norm for protecting monuments and artifacts. That framework underpins the 2023 Argentine Supreme Court ruling ordering the Ceruti portrait’s restitution.

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Story summary

Argentina's court approved returning the looted portrait to heir Marei von Saher.
Patricia Kadgien and Juan Carlos Cortegoso abandoned their claim to avoid trial.
They will be supervised for two years.
They each must pay 2.4 million pesos to a Mar del Plata hospital.
The painting, valued at about €250,000, was re-attributed to Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti.

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