Toledo Museum of Art Agrees to Gradual Restitution of 380 Ethiopian Artworks

Inside the climate-controlled storage of the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, a 15th-century Ethiopian Book of Revelation sits alongside hundreds of other medieval artifacts, quietly waiting out a bureaucratic purgatory. Before this month, these objects—part of a 380-piece private collection amassed by medieval art enthusiast Bob McCarthy—were effectively untouchable. They lacked the paperwork proving how they left the Horn of Africa, making them too risky for most Western museums to acquire, yet impossible to legally return without an institutional sponsor. On September 2, 2026, the Ohio museum broke the stalemate, signing a 20-year pact with the Ethiopian Heritage Authority that flips the standard script on contested antiquities.[1][2]

The arrangement bypasses the usual litigious fights over cultural heritage by embracing the ambiguity. Rather than rejecting the McCarthy collection due to its murky provenance, the Toledo Museum of Art is acquiring the entire 380-piece trove—believed to be the largest private collection of Ethiopian art in existence, spanning more than 500 years. But the museum is taking possession specifically to research the items and gradually give them back. The agreement establishes a framework where the Ohio institution acts as a clearinghouse, funding the provenance research that private collectors rarely commission.[2][3]

That research has already yielded its first concrete results. Five objects are being immediately restituted to the Ethiopian Heritage Authority: three processional crosses and two religious manuscripts. During the museum's initial vetting, researchers discovered that the two manuscripts, including the 15th-century Book of Revelation with Horologium, were documented as still being inside Ethiopia after 1970. That year marks the adoption of the UNESCO convention against the illicit trade of cultural property, meaning the texts were almost certainly removed from the country illegally.[1][3][4]

The timeline for the remaining 375 artifacts stretches across two decades. The first 10 years of the partnership will focus entirely on research, capacity building, and rolling restitutions as the history of individual pieces becomes clear. The subsequent decade will determine the long-term disposition and exhibition of the returned works. It is a stark departure from the traditional museum model, which historically prioritized holding onto acquisitions at all costs.[2][3]

"What we are trying to do in this partnership is to move from ownership to stewardship," said Adam M. Levine, the director, president, and CEO of the Toledo Museum of Art. Levine noted that the art world has struggled with how to handle "orphan objects" that have no direct evidence of illicit looting but also no proof of legitimate export. "Our partnership with the Ethiopian Heritage Authority allows us to preserve these objects, deepen our understanding of their histories and appropriately determine what their future stewardship can look like."[2][4]

For Ethiopia, the return of these items is not merely an administrative victory. Ethiopian devotional art—from illuminated texts to intricate metalwork—was designed for active use in sacred liturgy and communal memory, rather than passive display behind museum glass. Abebaw Ayalew Gella, the director general of the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, has spent recent years aggressively pursuing the return of looted national treasures, including items seized by British troops at the 1868 Battle of Magdala.[2][4]

"This incredible collection of objects is extremely important to Ethiopia's culture and history, and this innovative partnership is a remarkable opportunity for our country and a model approach to cultural heritage," Gella said following the September announcement. He emphasized that the immediate return of the two looted manuscripts paves the way for a steady stream of repatriations over the course of the agreement.[2]

The collaboration was born out of a curatorial problem. The Toledo museum is currently preparing a major reinstallation of its medieval Cloister gallery, scheduled to reopen next year. The new layout is designed to highlight the historical connections between Ethiopia, Armenia, and the Byzantine and Islamic empires. Sophie Ong, the museum's deputy director for strategic initiatives, was conducting preparatory research in Ethiopia when she realized the institution needed a new mechanism to handle objects that lacked export evidence.[3][4]

"The museum must acquire these objects and directly engage with scholars and museum professionals in Ethiopia, and we will also travel to Ethiopia ourselves," Ong explained. By taking temporary legal custody of the artifacts, the museum can legally fund the cataloging and conservation work required to figure out exactly where they came from. As that new data emerges, the title to the artworks will systematically transfer back to Addis Ababa, turning a Midwestern art museum into a temporary waystation for a nation's scattered heritage.[3][4]