US to return 7 antiquities stolen from India

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...tatuette-seized/article9336438.ece?ref=tpnews

A bronze statuette was seized from the antique furniture store in Bedford along Coonoor-Kotagiri Road on Thursday night. The police had seized a ‘Deepalakshmi statuette’ from the same store on Wednesday. The statuette seized on Thursday is of Lord Natraja, Coonoor police officials told The Hindu . The Natraja statuette is also said to have been given to the store keeper, by one Norma Schwitter Hamilton, who is residing in Switzerland.

Ms. Hamilton has responded to their questions by e-mail stating that she was the “legitimate owner” of the statue. – Staff Reporter

The 3-foot-long figurine was seized by the police, who invoked Section 102 of the Code for Criminal Procedure (Power of police officer to seize certain property). The owner of the shop told the police that a foreign national had gifted the artefact to him.

 

[TimePass]

Looks like they were waiting for Modi to come to power before deciding to return to India what is rightfully ours.

Funny how during CONgress rule, they stole stuff. During Modi rule they are returning stuff.

 

[Hindustani78]

Looks like they were waiting for Modi to come to power before deciding to return to India what is rightfully ours.

Funny how during CONgress rule, they stole stuff. During Modi rule they are returning stuff.

The Natraja statuette is also said to have been given to the store keeper, by one Norma Schwitter Hamilton, who is residing in Switzerland.

Ms. Hamilton has responded to their questions by e-mail stating that she was the “legitimate owner” of the statue. – Staff Reporter

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...Indian-artifacts-arrested/article16932736.ece

A prominent art dealer in New York has been arrested for acquiring and selling stolen artifacts from several Asian countries including India. Nancy Wiener, who runs the Nancy Wiener Gallery, had close links with Subhash Kapoor, another New York art dealer who is now facing trial in Chennai for smuggling hundreds of antiques out of India, according to a complaint filed by the U.S Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday.

The 12-page complaint filed in Manhattan Criminal Court cites multiple incidents of smuggling from India, an operation that involved several conspirators. Ms. Wiener oversaw an elaborate mechanism that camouflaged the transfer of stolen objects to the U.S and their subsequent sale to reputed institutions by faking their history and origins.

The complaint details the smuggling of a Chola period kaliyamardhanam statue from Tamil Nadu by Mr. Kapoor, who sought Ms. Wiener’s help to appraise and sell it. Mr. Kapoor bought the 11th century Krishna in 2005 and smuggled it to New York, hidden in a shipment of legal handicrafts, as is a common practice to evade law enforcement. In June 2006, he sent it to a U.K based restorer for

restoration to hide the signs of looting. According to seized emails, Mr. Kapoor sent pre and post-restoration pictures of the stolen Krishna, to Ms. Wiener and requested that she prepare an appraisal to assist in the future sale of the statue, the complaint said. She valued the piece at $3,500,000, according to the complaint.

Ranjeet Kanwar and Vaman Ghiya, two India based art dealers who were suppliers of artifacts to Mr. Kapoor, are also named in the complaint. Details of these two are unavailable. In one instance, the accused sold a Buddha from India to the National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra, Australia, for $1,080,000 by forging its ownership history. After India complained it was looted, Ms. Wiener returned the money to gallery. The NGA returned this piece, along with several other stolen items, to India in September.

The accused and her mother Doris Wiener who died in 2011 brought Indian artifacts into the limelight in the U.S, and sold them to many reputed art museums in the country over the last four decades. The U.S wants Mr. Kapoor extradited from India after his trial and punishment is over in India. He was arrested in Germany in 2011.

 

[Kamikaze Pilot]

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

Oh is it? Can you tell when exactly did they stole it and from where? I know it was during Raj but exactly when and from where and how?

What if they don't?

What bullshit! Sooner or later Islamists are going to come to BD.

 

[scholseys]

All Bangladeshi pagan and infidel statues should be sold to the highest bidder.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Culture
30-December, 2016 12:01 IST
Year End Review-2016- Nearly 100 Monuments Identified for Portal on “Must-See Monuments & Archaeological Sites
8. Retrieval of stolen antiquities from abroad



· Hon’ble Prime Minister’s visit to USA in June, 2016 facilitated return of 17 antiquities smuggled out of India to USA. Out of these, 8 antiquities have already been returned to India and the remaining 9 are in process of return. One Bronze object of Natraja and one Stone object of Ardhanarishwara from Australia have already been retrieved, while three objects i.e. seated images of Buddha, Pratayangira and Buddha panel are in process of return. One stone object of Parrot Lady from Canada and one stone object of Durga from Germany have already been retrieved.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Culture
29-March, 2017 14:40 IST
Documentation of Antiquities and Monuments Under NMMA

National Mission on Monuments & Antiquities (NMMA) gets the documentation of antiquities and monuments done by outsourcing through Documentation Resource Centers (DRCs) which comprise Universities, State Archaeological Departments, Endowment Boards, Research Institutes, Trusts, NGOs etc. These DRCs are identified by NMMA in association with State Level Implementation Committees (SLIC) constituted for the purpose in different States. The projects awarded to DRCs are monitored by SLICs, Finance Committee and Monitoring Committee. The DRCs get the documentation done in house or through outsourcing as the case may be.

There is already in built mechanism for certification of data by subject experts before submission of data to NMMA. The data received in NMMA is further verified by the subject experts before release of funds and uploading of the documented data.

This information was given by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

****

 

[Stella Maris]

Indians should invest some time, effort and money into their museums that are in a deplorable condition. I visited the Indian Museum in Kolkata recently and it is in shambles. Priceless Hindu and Buddhist exhibits are strewn all over the corridor and many of them are severely damaged. There is no country in the world that has a larger treasure of historic relics than India but this sheer neglect is disheartening.

 

[my2cents]

All Bangladeshi pagan and infidel statues should be sold to the highest bidder.

Do I suspect a Jamati among our midst???

 

[My-Analogous]

US to return 7 antiquities stolen from India | Zee News
Last Updated: Thursday, April 2, 2015 - 14:16

New York: A Honolulu museum has returned to American authorities seven rare antiquities believed to have been stolen from India and smuggled into the US by notorious art dealer Subhash Kapoor.

The Honolulu Museum of Art handed over the seven antiquities to personnel from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) yesterday following a probe during which it emerged that the objects had been stolen from temples and ancient Buddhist sites in India and brought to the US illegally.

ICE agents will bring back the items here to be eventually returned to the Indian government.

Authorities said the museum was not aware that the stone objects had been stolen when they were added to its collection between 1991 and 2003.

Homeland Security officials in Honolulu contacted the museum last year after special agents in New York determined that a 2,000-year-old terracotta rattle sourced from Kapoor's NYC gallery might have found its way into the museum's collection.

Subsequently, the museum, working in close collaboration with HSI, identified six other Indian artifacts, including figurines, architectural fragments and tiles in the institution's possession with potential ties to Kapoor, who was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and was arrested in late 2011 in Germany.

He was extradited to India, where he is awaiting trial.

The statues were seized as part of an HSI Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Programme investigation titled 'Operation Hidden Idol'.

"Looting is a serious problem in the art market and all buyers of art, including museums, need to be mindful that some antiquities have been illegally obtained," Honolulu Museum of Art director Stephan Jost said.

PTI

She seems ugly to me

Just chill

 

[Hindustani78]

Vice President's Secretariat
18-April, 2017 19:26 IST
Educating youth on our pluralistic heritage is the best way to preserve it: Vice President

Addresses the World Heritage Day celebrations

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that educating our youth about the value of our pluralistic heritage is the best way to ensure that our heritage is preserved. He was addressing an event to mark the celebration of World Heritage Day, organized by the Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development, here today. The former Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Sheila Dikshit and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.


The Vice President said that Indian culture is distinguished from others in respect of its continuity and heterogeneity, its accommodating ethos and its composite, plural character. He further said that India has played host to cultural streams from different parts of the world. In the course of time they were assimilated and adapted to life in India, he added.


The Vice President said that few people celebrate diversity and plurality the way India does and despite this diversity, people in India have lived in harmony for centuries and will continue to do so. He further said that the diversity of Indian cultural landscape is a result of not just toleration of newer and different elements, but of its acceptance. There may be reason to believe that the current tide of globalization would not submerge the Indian cultural identity but would add an Indian dimension to a globalizing culture, he added.


Following is the Text of Vice President’s address:


“Culture is more than just song and dance or architecture. It is the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.


Cultures cannot be separated from the societies in which they emerge, develop and, at times, decline and are subsumed by other cultures or fade away altogether. Cultural boundaries are diffuse but the term “tradition” or “culture” can easily lend itself to idea of a single society and its temporal, linear extant. Tradition, and culture, linked as they are to the idea of identity can also be construed to denote exclusivity, which can be troublesome.



Every culture evolves certain unique features of its own which, in their entirety and inter-relatedness, constitute its dominant configuration and differentiate it from other cultures. Indian culture is distinguished from others in respect of its continuity and heterogeneity, its accommodating ethos and its composite, plural character.


India has played host to cultural streams from different parts of the world. In the course of time they were assimilated and adapted to life in India. The process of adaptation and interaction among the various groups brought about, on the one hand, India’s characteristic diversity and, on the other, our composite cultural tradition.


The development of our multi-coloured cultural tapestry was succinctly summed up by the poet Raghupati Rai Firaq:



Sar zamin-e- Hind par aqwam-e-alam ke Firaq


Karwaan aate gaye Hindostan banta gaya.



Almost a century ago, Dr. Tara Chand had observed that;


“Indian culture is synthetic in character. It comprehends ideas of different orders. It embraces in its orbit beliefs, customs, rites, institutions, arts, religions and philosophies belonging to strata of society in different stages of development. It eternally seeks to find a unity for the heterogeneous elements which make up its totality. At worst its attempts end in mechanical juxtaposition, at best they succeed in evolving an organic system.”



Few people celebrate diversity and plurality the way India does. All the religions in the world are equally revered here, and linguistic and cultural diversity of our country is unparalleled. Despite this diversity, people in India have lived in harmony for centuries and will continue to do so.


As the great litterateur Rabindranath Tagore said,


“In spite of our great difficulty, however, India has done something. She has tried to make an adjustment of races, to acknowledge the real differences between them where these exist, and yet seek for some basis of unity.”



The unity of India is often assumed and taken for granted; it is seldom subjected to a critical examination in a diachronic framework. This is perhaps because the sense of unity which pervades the fabric of Indian society is intangible. Yet it is alive inside every Indian and follows from the day to day living in a composite and divergent milieu.


Our society has, for centuries, provided a unique social and intellectual environment in which many distinct cultural streams have not only co-existed peacefully but have also enriched each other. The Indian approach to cultural change has been one of seamless accommodation. The diversity of Indian cultural landscape is a result of not just toleration of newer and different elements, but of its acceptance.



This is to be witnessed in all aspects of our daily life. There may be reason to believe, therefore, that the current tide of globalization would not submerge the Indian cultural identity but would add an Indian dimension to a globalizing culture.



Our right to enjoy the cultural artifacts, and to participate in the cultural life of the community, is reflected in UN’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This prohibits illicit trafficking of artefacts and cultural objects; pillaging of archaeological sites; and destruction of historical buildings and monuments since it cause irreparable damage to the cultural heritage of a community. These principles have been amplified in UNESCO’s various international conventions on the protection of cultural heritage. In our Constitution, Article 49 provides the Directive to the State to protect monuments and objects of artistic and historic interest from spoliation and destruction. In addition, Article 51 A (f) makes it a duty of every citizen to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.


Laws and regulations can provide the framework for our action, but educating our youth about the value of our pluralistic heritage is perhaps the best way to ensure that our heritage is preserved. I commend the Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development for their initiative in preserving our cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, in the rural areas, including by educating youth and generating awareness about the issue. I wish them success in their future endeavors and wish you all a very happy World Heritage Day.



Jai Hind.

***

KSD/BK

 

[Hindustani78]

The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma inaugurating an exhibition on “Return of the three stone sculptures” from Australia, the exhibition is organised to mark the safe return of three stone sculptures (Seated Buddha, Worshippers of Buddha, Goddess Pratyangira) from Australia to India, in New Delhi on May 23, 2017. The Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri N.K. Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma visiting after inaugurating an exhibition on “Return of the three stone sculptures” from Australia, the exhibition is organised to mark the safe return of three stone sculptures (Seated Buddha, Worshippers of Buddha, Goddess Pratyangira) from Australia to India, in New Delhi on May 23, 2017. The Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri N.K. Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma visiting after inaugurating an exhibition on “Return of the three stone sculptures” from Australia, the exhibition is organised to mark the safe return of three stone sculptures (Seated Buddha, Worshippers of Buddha, Goddess Pratyangira) from Australia to India, in New Delhi on May 23, 2017. The Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri N.K. Sinha is also seen.

The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma releasing the book, at the inauguration of an exhibition on “Return of the three stone sculptures” from Australia, the exhibition is organised to mark the safe return of three stone sculptures (Seated Buddha, Worshippers of Buddha, Goddess Pratyangira) from Australia to India, in New Delhi on May 23, 2017. The Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri N.K. Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Dr. Mahesh Sharma addressing at the inauguration of an exhibition on “Return of the three stone sculptures” from Australia, the exhibition is organised to mark the safe return of three stone sculptures (Seated Buddha, Worshippers of Buddha, Goddess Pratyangira) from Australia to India, in New Delhi on May 23, 2017. The Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri N.K. Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.

Ministry of Culture
23-May, 2017 20:28 IST
Dr. Mahesh Sharma Inaugurates an Exhibition ‘Return of the three stone Sculptures from Australia to India’

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism inaugurated an exhibition “Return of the Three Stone Sculptures from Australia to India” in National Museum, Janpath New Delhi today. The exhibition is organised to mark the safe return of three stone sculptures (Seated Buddha, Worshippers of Buddha, Goddess Pratyangira) from Australia to India. These sculptures were purchased by National Gallery of Australia from the Nancy Wiener, New York in 2007 and Art of the Past, New York, 2005.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma attended a special event at National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra, Australia in which Senator Mitch Fifield formally handed over three ancient artefacts stolen and smuggled out of India and inadvertently acquired by National Gallery of Australia.

The Minister released a book entitled ‘War Paintings of The Irresistible Jat King Surajmal’ by Dr Satya Vrata Tripathi and also launched an ‘App on Swachchta Abhiyan’. Shri N.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri B.R. Mani, Director General of National Museum and senior officers of the Ministry werte present on the occasion.

*****

Goddess Pratyangira is a female form of Narasimha and the tradition has it that she appeared to control both the Narasimha and Sharaba Avatars. Kali Sahasranama Stotra refers to Pratyangira Devi as Narasimhika.

One school of thought is that Pratyangira Devi is an incarnation of Goddess Parvati. She appeared when took the Sharaba Avatar to control the Narasimha Avatar of Vishnu.

Pratyangira mantras are also given in Mantra-mahodadhi and some other texts. Pratyangira is sometimes identified with Bhadrakali and Siddhilakshmi.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Culture
24-May, 2017 14:31 IST
Exhibition ‘Return of the Three Stone Sculptures from Australia to India’ begins in National Museum

An exhibition “Return of the Three Stone Sculptures from Australia to India” has begun in National Museum, Janpath, New Delhi. It has been organised to mark the safe return of three stone sculptures (Seated Buddha; Worshippers of Buddha; & Goddess Pratyangira) from Australia to India. These sculptures were purchased by National Gallery of Australia from the Nancy Wiener, New York in 2007 and Art of the Past, New York, 2005.


Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism Dr. Mahesh Sharma inaugurated the exhibition yesterday. He attended a special event at National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra, Australia in which Senator Mitch Fifield formally handed over three ancient artefacts stolen and smuggled out of India and inadvertently acquired by National Gallery of Australia.


Earlier, during the visit of Australian Prime Minister to India in September, 2014, the Australian government had also returned sculpture of ‘Dancing Shiva’.


This exhibition is important as it celebrates the return of rare heritage sculptures that were stolen from the country.

I. The statue of Worshippers of the Buddha : (Satavahana, Ist Century BCE to 2nd Century CE, Andhra Pradesh, South India, Lime Stone, size: 96.5x106.7x12.7cm). This architecture piece adorning a stupa (possibly drum slab) is made of limestone. The panel depicts the worship of some of the Buddhist symbol (possibly chakrastambha or Bodhi tree but it is not visible as the piece is damaged at the top) kept on a throne, below which the Buddha-pada are visible. The central objects are flanked by worshipper couples on either sides in standing posture. On both the sides, male worshippers are represented first followed by the female worshippers. The most probable offering objects held in their hands are vases with flower or garlands. This sculpture was unearthed in 1970s during the excavation of a Buddhist stupa at Chandavaram (District, Prakasham) in Andhra Pradesh.

Seated Buddha with large halo : (Kushan, 2nd century CE, Maholi, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh Spotted Red sand stone, size: 129.5x101.5x30.5cm). This image represents the Buddha seated cross legged (Padmasana) wearing ekansika sanghati (drapery covering one shoulder and arrayed with additional pleats). The transparent effect of the cloth is apparent through the conspicuous marking of the navel. The image indicates that the right hand was raised in the abhaya mudra (protection pose) and the left rests on the thigh. The large halo with a scalped border (hasti nakha) emerges just above the waist. He is shown with an urna, pralamba karna (elongated ear-lobes), ushnisha and with a filing contemplation on his face.

Standing Pratyangira : (Chola, 13th Century CE, Tamil Nadu, South India Grey coloured granite stone, size: 125.1x55.9x30.5cm). In order to carry out his supreme task of preservation, Lord Vishnu took incarnation in the form of Narasimha in which he is represented by a human body and a lion’s head, who destroyed the demon kind Hiranykashipu, the personification of evil. The deity represented here is a tantric deity who is the female aspect of God Narasimha also known as Narasimhi. She is invoked in the Sadhanamala also. She is standing in pralambapadita pose, the face of a roaring and furious lion while the body is of a female. Flames are coming out of her head. However, the attributes tridents (trisula) and drum (damaru) in her right hands suggest her to be Pratyangira, a form of Bhairavi as per Saivite cult. The image was under worship in Vriddhachalam temple near Chennai before its theft.


*****

 

[Hindustani78]

The Narasimmee idol stolen from the Vriddhachalam temple. | Photo Credit: K.V. Srinivasan

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-comes-back-to-tamil-nadu/article18586792.ece


Chennai, May 27, 2017 00:30 IST
Updated: May 27, 2017 00:31 IST
National Gallery of Australia returns smuggled idol

A 1,046-year-old stone idol of Narasimmee, stolen from the Vriddhagiriswarar temple in Vriddhachalam nearly 15 years ago, has returned to Tamil Nadu. The idol was bought by the Canberra-based National Gallery of Australia (NGA) — and recorded as Pratyangira in the museum’s records — from alleged idol smuggler and antique dealer Subhash Kapoor. It was returned to Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Mahesh Sharma, when he visited Australia in September last year. Along with the Narasimmee idol, the Australian authorities returned a third century rock carving as well as a ‘seated Buddha’ to Mr. Sharma.

The ancient Chola temple of Vriddhagiriswarar was commissioned by Sembiyan Mahadevi, among the most powerful queens of the Chola empire and an ardent worshipper of Lord Siva. Police are now searching for a bronze idol of Sembiyan Mahadevi stolen from a temple in Nagapattinam district 56 years ago, as well as four more idols looted from the Vriddhachalam temple.

The Narasimmee idol was stolen along with five other stone idols of deities from the same temple. The theft was not reported to the police and was detected some 11 years later, in 2013.

Australian cooperation
Describing the idol theft, CB CID (Idol Wing) Inspector General of Police A.G. Ponn Manickavel said, “We were looking for idols stolen from the Sripuranthan temple and sent a letter rogatory to the Australian authorities to furnish information. They sent details of a few other idols from India that were procured through antique dealers and were on display at the gallery.”

Vijay Kumar, a heritage enthusiast who has helped trace stolen idols abroad, told the police that a stone Ardhanariswarar icon was likely also from the Vriddhagiriswarar temple.

The Ardhanariswarar idol was returned by the Australian gallery along with a bronze Nataraja, which came from Sripuranthan in Ariyalur, in 2014.