US to return 7 antiquities stolen from India

[Hindustani78]

Updated: October 6, 2015 02:09 IST
Germany returns idol stolen from Kashmir - The Hindu

BACK HOME: The Durga idol was handed over on Monday. Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

Germany on Monday returned to India a 10th century Durga idol that had gone missing from a temple in Kashmir over two decades ago.

The idol was handed over by visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their talks here, three years after it was spotted in a museum in Stuttgart. Mr. Modi thanked Ms. Merkel and the people of Germany, saying: “The statue is from Jammu and Kashmir and is a symbol of victory of good over evil.”

The idol in Mahishasuramardini avatar was stolen from a temple at Pulwama in Kashmir in the 1990s, sources said. An FIR was registered in connection with the theft.

In 2012, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) received a tip-off that the idol was at the Linden Museum, Stuttgart. Two ASI officials visited Stuttgart to begin the process of recovering the idol last year.

With the FIR, which is crucial evidence that the idol belonged to India, the government took up the issue with the authorities in Germany.

Notorious art dealer Subhash Kapoor is said to be behind the smuggling of the idol.

 

[indianBong]

These seems very much Bangladeshi to me

View attachment 210710 View attachment 210711 View attachment 210712

Well idol worship is prohibited in your religion... what will you do other than destroying them???

 

[bongbang]

Well idol worship is prohibited in your religion... what will you do other than destroying them???

We will preserve these in our museum as our old heritage. Displaying them we will earn money. Lots of idols are in our museums. No body comes to worship them. Apart from that talk to other people who has this ideology to destroy them.

 

[The_Showstopper]

Hope Brits will take a cue from yanks and do the needful...

We will preserve these in our museum as our old heritage. Displaying them we will earn money. Lots of idols are in our museums. No body comes to worship them. Apart from that talk to other people who has this ideology to destroy them.

What if some loony jamaati(Like our Talibs of Afghanistan) comes to power and decides to get rid of all idols irrespective of their monetary value? So I reckon you better let it be with us. There are many idol worshippers in here and they shall value its importance..

 

[24 Hours]

What if some loony jamaati(Like our Talibs of Afghanistan) comes to power and decides to get rid of all idols irrespective of their monetary value? So I reckon you better let it be with us. There are many idol worshippers in here and they shall value its importance..

What if they don't?

 

[vsdave2302]

This how world will respond when you have a strong and influancial government at center.

 

[Perpendicular]

This is all well and good, but when does UK plan to return our antiques
Coz they are the biggest thieves of Indian treasure
I visited Windsor castle and tower of London last year
They have more Indian antiques than British ones

In a few years from now Modi is going to park IAC 5 at Britain's doorstep and send queen a msg " want my stone back woman

 

[Hindustani78]

Well idol worship is prohibited in your religion... what will you do other than destroying them???

Here its more about history of Indian civilization which is the only surviving ancient civilization.

Hope Brits will take a cue from yanks and do the needful...


What if some loony jamaati(Like our Talibs of Afghanistan) comes to power and decides to get rid of all idols irrespective of their monetary value? So I reckon you better let it be with us. There are many idol worshippers in here and they shall value its importance..

Here its about the whole Indian civilization and its tribes.

These ancient antiques do explain about our ancient forefathers.


Germany on Monday returned to India a 10th century Durga idol that had gone missing from a temple in Kashmir over two decades ago.

 

[45'22']

Its a nice gesture from US,Germany,Canada nd other countries....

UK should take heed nd return d kohinoor as well..

 

[The_Showstopper]

What if they don't?

The probability of happening otherwise is much more...

 

[Hindustani78]

Australian art gallery to return 2,000 years old Buddha idol | Zee News
Last Updated: Sunday, October 11, 2015 - 13:51

New Delhi: Close on the heels of Germany returning an ancient Durga idol, an Australian art gallery has agreed to give a 2,000-year-old Buddha sculpture back to India.

The Sitting Buddha sculpture, whose roots could be traced to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, is currently with a national art gallery in Canberra, Australia, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials here said.

"Last week, the Australian art gallery intimated the Union Culture Ministry that they intend to return it. The sculpture made of sandstone is an image, which is very unique to the Mathura region," ASI sources told PTI.

With the Canberra-based art gallery giving its consent, the ASI has requested the Ministry of Culture to send an official team to examine the antique idol dating to the first century.

"Now, the gallery has agreed to return the sculpture. It is necessary for us to authenticate the sculpture," they said, adding it is part of the process involved in retrieving the object.

Asked whether any case regarding the missing of the sculpture has been registered in India, sources said there was no complaint available with the police "as of now".

However, ASI sources said, the design employed in crafting the sculpture is quintessentially associated with Mathura, an important Buddhist centre several hundred years ago.

Besides, they said, a state archaeological museum in Uttar Pradesh has similar Buddha statues, indicating towards the sculpture's Mathura links.

ASI sources also suspect the role of notorious Indian art dealer Subhash Kapoor in smuggling the sculpture out of the country.

PTI


First Published: Sunday, October 11, 2015 - 13:51

 

[Hindustani78]

AP bids to recover sculptures from UK - The Hindu

A sculpture from Amaravati displayed at theBritish Museum in London.- Photo: File Photo
While gearing up for the foundation ceremony of its new capital city Amaravati, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to try to bring back ancient sculptures excavated in the 18{+t}{+h}century and transported to the British Museum. Chief secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao recently visited the Amaravati gallery in the British Museum in London.

Several of the priceless sculptures date back to the second century BC. They were rediscovered in excavations carried out in 1779 by Colonel Colin Mackenzie, a Scottish army officer of the British East India Company who became the first Surveyor General of India. The sculptures are a bunch of reliefs with complex accounts of the previous lives of the Buddha. They are classified into four periods ranging from the second century BC to the second century AD.

Mr. Krishna Rao said the collection includes over 100 different pieces made from limestone called Palanadu marble. They represent the most important collection of ancient Indian sculptures outside the sub-continent. A letter from the chairman of Amaravati Development Authority Veeranjaneyulu Jasthi to the Chief Secretary about the renowned Amaravati sculptures and inscriptions on display in the British Museum set the process in motion. The sculptures and inscriptions once adorned the Great Stupa at Amaravati. While some sculptures remain at Amaravati, many are scattered in various museums across the world. But the two principal collections are held at the Government Museum in Chennai and the British Museum in London.

Mr Jasthi had earlier petitioned the Prime Minister, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and the Archaeological Survey of India about recovering the Amaravati collection. The Prime Minister’s Office forwarded the representation to the Department of Culture.

The Chief Secretary made a presentation on the Amaravathi collection in the recent Cabinet meeting.

While the State Government will write to the Centre and the British Museum requesting it to return the invaluable sculptures, a special video on the collection will be screened at the Amaravati foundation ceremony on October 22.

Govt. to urge to the British Museum to return the sculptures excavated from Amaravati in

the 18{+t}{+h}century

 

[Hindustani78]

Singapore returns stolen 11th Century sculpture to India

A Singaporean museum today said it is returning to India an 11th-century bronze sculpture, dating back to the Chola dynasty which it had purchased from a dubious New York art dealer in 2007.

The Asian Civilisation Museum (ACM) took the decision to return the sculpture after a series of discussions between Singapore's National Heritage Board (NHB) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), according to a report by The Straits Times today.

In July 2012, the dealer Art of the Past, which has operated since 1976, was embroiled in a criminal court case in New York involving illegally trafficked Indian artefacts. The firm, run by Indian-origin Subhash Kapoor, was shut down following allegations of its involvement in an international smuggling racket.

Manager of the Art of the Past, Aaron Freedman, identified the sculpture as one of 150 stolen objects sold by the company.

The ASI - the Indian government's national agency that oversees its antiquities - visited Singapore in May this year and submitted an official request for the return of the sculpture on June 16, the Singapore daily reported, citing an ACM statement.

The sculpture bears a likeness to the Hindu goddess, Uma Parameshvari, and is believed to have been stolen from a Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu.

The Asian Civilisation Museum, under NHB's management, purchased the sculpture from the dealer in 2007 for USD 650,000.

While there is no conclusive proof that the sculpture was stolen from the Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu, ACM took note of the confession of Freedman of dealing in looted Indian antiquities and of criminal possession of 150 stolen objects, the report said.

The sculpture was specifically identified by Freedman as one of the 150 stolen objects, it said.

The museum bought 30 objects from the dealer between 1997 and 2010, for a total cost of USD 1,328,250. The other 29 objects are not known to be registered as stolen artefacts.

 

[Hindustani78]

US authorities recover stolen idol from south Indian temple | Zee News
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 - 13:43


New York: A museum in Indiana has surrendered to authorities a 1,000-year-old bronze idol looted from a temple in southern India and smuggled to the US by America-based disgraced Indian art dealer Subhash Kapoor.


The David Owsley Museum of Art at Ball State University transferred the bronze sculpture of Shiva and Parvati to the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The idol had been looted from a temple in southern India and brought to the US illegally. The bronze sculpture, from the Chola Period (860 -1279 CE) was sourced illegally from Tamil Nadu under Kapoor's direction and smuggled into the US.

Around 2004, the stolen idol was delivered to Kapoor's former New York City gallery 'Art of the Past'.

Kapoor had displayed the Shiva and Parvati sculpture for sale and misrepresented the idol's true origin, the HSI said in a statement.

In 2005, representatives from Ball State University became unwitting victims as Kapoor provided the museum with a false provenance for their artifact.
HSI special agents have tracked many false provenances provided by Kapoor. So far, HSI special agents, in conjunction with the Manhattan prosecutor's office, have netted in excess of 2,500 artifacts worth more than USD 100 million.

The statute will be shipped to New York where it will serve as potential evidence in 'Operation Hidden Idols'. Ultimately it is anticipated the item will be forfeited and repatriated to India along with at least six other sacred Chola bronzes recovered by HSI.

"The theft, trafficking and/or destruction of cultural artifacts is one of the oldest and most sinister forms of transnational crime. To profit from the sale of someone else's ancient religious relic which is priceless to the people who worship it, is egregious and disrespectful to all faiths," said Glenn Sorge, acting special agent in charge for HSI New York.

Previously several other major collecting institutions cooperated fully with the US and Indian governments in the investigation of works sold by Kapoor.

Kapoor is currently in custody in India awaiting trial for allegedly looting tens of millions of dollars' worth of rare antiquities from several nations.

The trails of looted artifacts have been traced all around the world. Within the past eight months, two domestic museums, the Honolulu Museum, the Peabody Essex, and one major collector have partnered with HSI to surrender illicit cultural property stemming from Kapoor.

Over the last three years, HSI special agents have executed a series of search warrants targeting Kapoor's Manhattan gallery, along with warehouses and storage facilities linked to the dealer.
Additionally, three individuals have been arrested in the US for their role in the scheme.

PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...ort-of-antiques/article9278822.ece?ref=tpnews
Updated: October 28, 2016 06:10 IST

Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Tuesday last arrested two persons, including a city-based dentist, for indulging in illegal export of antique objects. Artefacts, statues, idols, wood carvings and paintings among others were seized from the premises of the suspects search on the premises of the doctor T.M. Balaji and his associate Srikanth Omkaram.

Atul Jain who arranged fake documents such as Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) certificates to facilitate the illegal export to foreign countries was arrested in Mumbai.In a statement on Thursday, the DRI Chennai Zonal Unit claimed the suspects confessed to their involvement in the trading of antiques on commission basis.

They even arranged for registration of stolen antiques with the help of one Atul Jain on the direction of Deenadayalan, an accused already arrested on charges of antique smuggling earlier this year.

The antique items concealed in the house of Dr Balaji in T. Nagar included a Buddha statue in sitting posture, stone pillar carvings and a statue of Mahavishnu.