US repatriates 2 stolen antique statues to India

Two antique statues worth hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from India and displayed at two American museums have been repatriated to India by the US.

The first statue, “Lingodhbhavamurti”, a granite sculpture depicting an iconic representation of Lord Shiva, dates back to the Chola dynasty and 12th century. Currently valued at about $ 225,000, it was stolen from Tamil Nadu and was on display at the Birmingham Museum in Alabama.

The second phyllite sculpture depicts the bodhisattva of wisdom, “Manjusri”, holding a sword and painted in gold leaf. Dating back to the 12th century, the statue was stolen from a temple near the Bodh Gaya Temple in Bihar in the late 1980s and has a current approximate value of $ 275,000.

It was repatriated from

Ackland Art Museum of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Both of the items were forfeited once the owners were presented with evidence that the artifacts were previously stolen from India. The statues were handed over to India’s Consul General in New York, Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr during a repatriation ceremony at the Indian Consulate on Tuesday.

“The pillaging of world heritage for profit is a tragedy. Moreover, trading in stolen artifacts is a crime and my Office’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit is committed to recovering these precious items and returning them to their countries of origin for the benefit of

all those who seek to study, view, and appreciate these treasured relics,” Vance said.

The two artifacts are among the many objects of art that have been returned to India and his office will continue to focus on repatriating art stolen from India, Vance added. Chakravorty expressed appreciation for the sincere efforts and collaboration received from the office of the Manhattan District Attorney, the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Ackland Art Museum, as well as from the team at Homeland Security Investigations ( HSI).

The first statue, “Lingodhbhavamurti”, a granite sculpture depicting an iconic representation of Lord Shiva, dates back to the Chola dynasty and 12th century. Currently, it is valued at about $ 2,25,000 The second phyllite sculpture depicts the bodhisattva of wisdom, “Manjusri”. Dating back to the 12th century, it has a current approximate value of $ 2,75,000