A celestial dancer was looted from a temple in Madhya Pradesh in the early 1980’s.
| Photo Credit: manhattanda.org

A sandstone sculpture looted from Madhya Pradesh in the 1980s and another in green-grey schist looted from Rajasthan in the 1960s are among the over 1,400 antiquities collectively valued at $10 million that the U.S. returned to India.

More than 600 more antiquities looted from India are scheduled to be repatriated in the coming months.

The pieces were returned at a ceremony with Manish Kulhary from the Consulate General of India here and Alexandra deArmas, Group Supervisor from the Homeland Security Investigation of New York Cultural Property, Art, and Antiquities Group, according to a statement from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L Bragg, Jr.

“At least 1,440 antiquities collectively valued at $10 million were returned to India at the event,” Mr. Bragg said in a statement.

The sandstone sculpture depicting a celestial dancer was looted from a temple in Madhya Pradesh in the early 1980’s. The looters had cleaved the sculpture into two halves to facilitate smuggling and illicit sale and by February 1992, the two halves were illegally imported from London into New York, professionally reassembled, and donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met).

It remained on display at the Met, until it was seized by the Antiquities Traffic Unit (ATU) in 2023.

Rajasthan’s Tanesar Mother Goddess

The second sculpture, Tanesar Mother Goddess, carved from green-gray schist, was looted from a village of Tanesara-Mahadeva in Rajasthan. First documented in the late 1950s by an Indian archaeologist along with 11 other sculptures of mother goddesses, the Tanesar Mother Goddess and her fellow mother goddesses were stolen one evening in the early 1960s, the statement said on Wednesday.

By 1968, the Tanesar Mother Goddess was in a Manhattan gallery and after passing through two other collectors in New York, the Met accessioned the Tanesar Mother Goddess in 1993, where it remained on display until it was seized by the ATU in 2022, it added.

These antiquities were recovered under several ongoing investigations into criminal trafficking networks, including those of alleged antiquities trafficker Subhash Kapoor and convicted trafficker Nancy Wiener, the statement added. “We will continue to investigate the many trafficking networks that have targeted Indian cultural heritage,” Mr. Bragg said.

The statement said that during Mr. Bragg’s tenure, the District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit recovered just over 2,100 antiquities stolen from more than 30 countries and valued at almost $230 million. It said about 1,000 antiquities, including more than 600 antiquities looted from India and recovered earlier this year, were scheduled to be repatriated in the coming months.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in conversation with President Joe Biden.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The illicit trafficking of cultural property is a longstanding issue that has affected many cultures and countries throughout history. India has been particularly affected by this issue and a large number of antiquities have been smuggled out of the country.

During this visit of PM Modi to U.S., 297 antiquities were handed over to India.

This takes the total number of antiquities recovered by India since 2014 to 640. The total number of antiquities returned from the USA alone will be 578.

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Apart from the current visit, the earlier visits of the PM to USA have also been particularly fruitful in return for antiquities to India.

During PM Modi’s visit to the U.S. in 2021, 157 antiquities were handed over by the U.S. government, including the exquisite bronze Nataraja statue from the 12th century CE. Also, a few days after the PM’s U.S. visit in 2023, 105 antiquities were returned to India.

India’s successful recoveries extend beyond the USA, with 16 artefacts being returned from the U.K., and 40 from Australia among others.

In stark contrast only one artefact was returned to India between 2004-2013.

Further, in July 2024, on the sidelines of the 46th World Heritage Committee, at New Delhi, India and the United States signed the first ever ‘Cultural Property Agreement’ to prevent and curb the illicit trafficking of antiquities from India to the USA.

The spectacular achievement over the last ten years demonstrates the government’s resolve to reclaim India’s stolen treasures and preserve its cultural heritage for future generations.

PM Modi’s personal bond with global leaders has played a pivotal role in securing these returns. His proactive approach has led to the recovery of significant artefacts, including revered sculptures and idols, reaffirming India’s cultural identity.