In 1936, the Jewish shareholders of an art gallery in Munich were forced to liquidate the gallery's entire stock in response to an extortionate tax demand by the Nazis in order to secure their freedom to leave Germany. The gallery's inventory was sold at auction in Berlin in 1936. In 2010, the Museum learned, through its own ongoing provenance research, that it owned this plaquette, together with two bronze medals, sold at the 1936 auction. The Museum wrote to the lawyer representing the heirs alerting her to the fact that the Museum's collection included these works. The Museum returned the objects to the heirs. The two medals and plaquette entered the Museum’s collection in 1975 as a part of the Robert Lehman bequest. Press release: http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/press-room/news/2012/medals-and-plaquette-returned