4 min readNew DelhiSep 23, 2024 01:28 AM IST
First published on: Sep 22, 2024 at 09:18 AM IST
Amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, the US formally handed over 297 antiquities that were stolen or trafficked from India. “These will shortly be repatriated to India,” the Indian government said in a statement.
In a symbolic handover ceremony, select pieces were showcased to PM Modi and President Biden on the sidelines of their bilateral meeting in Delaware. Modi thanked Biden for his support, saying: “These objects are not just part of India’s historical material culture, but formed the inner core of its civilisation and consciousness.”
It is learnt that the lot includes artefacts that were returned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) after their provenance was traced to India by an Indian Express-ICIJ investigation. It also includes antiquities confiscated by US authorities that were lying in the New York Attorney General’s office, sources said.
The 297 artefacts are from a period between 2000 BCE and 1900 CE. While they originate from different parts of the country, the majority are terracotta works from eastern India. There are also artefacts of stone, metal, wood and ivory.
Among them are a central Indian sandstone Apsara from the 10th-11th century CE, a bronze Jain Tirthankar from central India (15th-16th century CE), a terracotta vase from eastern India (3rd-4th century CE), and an anthropomorphic figure in copper from north India (2000-1800 BCE).
US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi look at the artefacts that are being returned.
According to a investigation in March last year by The Indian Express, in association with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the UK-based Finance Uncovered, a treasure trove of 77 Indian pieces at the Met was traced to antique dealer Subhash Kapoor, who is serving a 10-year prison term in Tamil Nadu for smuggling.
Later that month, the Met issued a statement saying it would “transfer 15 sculptures for return to the government of India, after having learned that the works were illegally removed from India”.
Of the 15 items, 10 were flagged in The Indian Express report. Significant among these are the Celestial Dancer, a 1st century BCE Yakshi Terracotta from West Bengal; a bronze sculpture of God Revanta Returning from the Hunt (10th century CE); and a 15th century Parikara (Backplate).
In May that year, the Met said it had returned 16 works. Museum director Max Hollein said in a statement: “Last month, in light of new provenance information, we returned 16 works to India, including the Celestial Dancer, a sculpture that enraptured visitors for decades.”
These items have now been handed over formally as part of the lot of 297, it is learnt.
India is pursuing agreements pertaining to the return of antiquities through both bilateral and multilateral routes. As per the Cultural Property Agreement signed between India and the US, which found mention in the joint statement after Modi’s official visit: “The US will do all that is within its power to intercept smuggled goods at the border and return them expeditiously.”
“Restitution of cultural property has become an important aspect of India-US cultural understanding and exchange,” the government statement said.
The US has so far returned a large number of such antiquities — ten in 2016, 157 in 2021, and 105 in 2023. The total number of artefacts returned to India by the US stands at 578, which is the highest number of cultural artefacts returned by any country to India.
Apart from the current visit, the earlier visits of Modi to the USA have also been particularly fruitful in return of antiquities to India. 
US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi look at the artefacts that are being returned.
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