India retrieves antique BrahmaBrahmani idol from London
India has retrieved a 12th-century priceless marble idol of Brahma and his consort Brahmani from London after a wait of over 16 years, officials said.
The idol was stolen from Gujarat’s Patan in 2001.
“The latest arrival, Brahma-Brahmani, reached Delhi on December 22 from London. We have kept it in the ASI’s (Archaeological Survey of India) Purana
Qila museum for now and have written to the Baroda circle of ASI to take it back after making adequate safety arrangements there,” DN Dimri, ASI’s director of antiquities, Delhi, told HT.
“The ASI has worked hard for over 10 years to bring this idol back. The marble idol is found to be in satisfactory condition as has not been broken from any corner,” Dimri said.
ASI officials said the idol was stolen from the UNESCO world heritage site at Rani-ki-Vav (bathing place of the queen) in Patan
NEWDELHI:
and smuggled out of the country. An 11th-century sandstone idol of Lord Ganesha from Open Sky Museum was also stolen then.
“The Brahma-Brahmani idol was found to be in the possession of an individual in London who had advertised it to sell it. Someone in London identified the idol in the advertisement and informed the Indian high commission there about this illegally acquired antiquity,” an ASI official said requesting anonymity.
Also expected soon is the 10th-century Lord Nataraja’s life-size sandstone idol from London after about 20 years. The idol of Shiva as the Lord of Dance was stolen from a temple in Rajasthan’s Jaipur in 1996 and smuggled out.