For almost 80 years, 22 artifacts from Okinawa, Japan were lost to history, only to be discovered last year, tucked away in an attic of a private residence in Massachusetts.
Now, thanks to an investigation led by the FBI—with support from the Department of Defense and the Smithsonian Institution—these artifacts have returned home.
The FBI began investigating the case in January 2023. Special Agent Geoffrey J. Kelly of the FBI Boston Field Office received a complaint from a family that found some unique items while sorting through their deceased father’s belongings. Their father was a World War II veteran, but never served in the Pacific Theater.
“They came across some what appeared to be very valuable Asian art,” said Kelly, who is the art crime coordinator for FBI Boston and a member of the FBI Art Crime Team. “There were some scrolls, there were some pottery pieces, there was an ancient map. They looked old and valuable. And because of this, they did a little research and they determined that at least the scrolls had been entered about 20 years ago in the FBI’s National Stolen Art File.”
