Hmm ... maybe the New York Times (scroll down a bit) and/or its Italian press sources jumped the gun on this one ... from the Daily Cavalier:

Two prized ancient Greek sculptures currently on display at the University of Virginia Art Museum are at the center of an international art scandal.

The artifacts in question, which date from the sixth century B.C., are known as acroliths. They currently consist of two marble heads, three separate hands and three separate feet. Originally, the acroliths may have also featured a wooden trunk, but this trunk has since been lost. Evidence suggests the sculptures were looted from Morgantina, an ancient Greek settlement near Aidone, in Sicily.

According to Carla Antonaccio, co-director of the ongoing U.S. archaeological program in Aidone and chair and professor of archaelogogy and classical studies at Duke University, the acroliths are exceptional examples of a rare type of sculpture found in the ancient world.

Since the late 1980s, Italian investigators and authorities have claimed that the acroliths were illegally excavated.

Antonaccio added that she did not know who completed the excavation of the University's acroliths or how they arrived in the University's possession. She noted, though, that the acroliths were not found during professional excavations.

"They were not excavated in a normal fashion," Antonaccio said.

According to a recent New York Times article, Giuseppe Mascara, a former tomb robber and antiquities dealer, testified in a 1988 deposition that the acroliths had been offered for sale as early as 1979. An investigation, conducted some years after 1979 by Italian prosecutor Silvio Raffiotta, determined the acroliths to have later been in the possession of London antiquities dealer Robin Symes, having reached England by way of Switzerland.

The article states that Symes, who is currently being investigated by the Italian government for art theft, then sold the acroliths to Maurice Tempelsman for a reported $1 million in 1980. Tempelsman, a Belgian-American diamond merchant -- more commonly known as the long-time companion of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis -- is a noted collector of art and other archaeological artifacts, as well as the last recorded owner of the acroliths.

In 1988, according to the article, the acroliths were briefly on display at Los Angeles' J. Paul Getty Museum thanks to an anonymous donor until allegations of illegal acquisition caused the museum to return the acroliths to the donor.

For the past five years, however, they have been on display in the University's museum.

University Associate General Counsel Richard Kastsaid the artifacts were also given to the University by an anonymous donor.

Kast added that the University entered into an agreement with the donor to neither publicize the acroliths nor reveal the identity of the donor.

"Under the agreement that is in place, the University is not supposed to openly publicize the fact that they have the acroliths," Kast said.

Kast also said, however, that the University is "obviously" in the possession of the marbles.

"There is an agreement, and the agreement has been in place for a while," Kast said.

Several Italian news outlets have reported that the acroliths will be returned to the Aidone region in 2008. The New York Times article quoted Beatrice Basile, the art superintendent for the Italian province of Enna, as saying "We're happy they're coming back."

According to Malcolm Bell, III, University professor of art history and director of ongoing University excavations in Morgantina, the museum will display the artifacts until the end of this calendar year.

Bell added that he is "eager to see them returned" and "optimistic" about the possibility of their return to Italy. Bell also said the Times article was accurate.

Kast declined to comment on the possibility of ongoing inquiries from the Italian government to the University in reference to the acroliths.

"All I can say is they are aware of what's going on," Kast said.

Readers of The Medici Conspiracy will recognize the Symes-Tempelsman 'conduit' for antiquities of questionable origin ... the newspaper also has an oped piece on the subject ...