Art: Smuggled Treasure

In December 1969, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts unveiled with a flourish its newest treasure—a small and exquisite portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga attributed to Raphael. A cloud of questions arose—especially how and where the museum had obtained the painting. In an unprecedented move last week, the U.S. Bureau of Customs seized the Raphael, claiming that it had been smuggled into America without declaration.

According to a Government source, it was Dr. Hanns Swarzenski, the Boston Museum's curator of decorative art and sculpture, who allegedly spirited the little (8½ in. by 10½ in.)...

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