US hands over 105 antiquities, will reach India soon
Once the objects reach India, the ASI (which functions under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture) also decides if the object is to be returned to its original place, and handed over to the respective state government, or whether to display them at a museum dedicated to repatriated antiquities at Delhi’s Purana Qila.
The antiquities being handed over in New York on Monday As many as 105 trafficked antiquities have been returned to India by the United States and will be back in India soon, officials say. A repatriation ceremony for these objects was held at the Indian Consulate in New York on Monday.
Officials say the 105 artefacts represent a wide geographical spread in terms of their origin in India. Around 50 artefacts relate to religious subjects (Hinduism, Jainism and Islam) and the rest are of cultural significance, they add.
The objects to return as part of this batch span a period of 1,600 years – from the 1st century BC to the 15th century AD, and hold significant historical and market value, even as their exact worth could not be ascertained, officials say. These include a terracotta Yakshi plaque belonging to the 1st century BC, which was stolen from ‘eastern India’; a red sandstone Dancing Ganesha from the 9th century, with its provenance in central India; a 10th century Kubera, also belonging to central India, and several other valuable antiquities and objects in mediums such as marble, terracotta and sandstone. Most of these were smuggled abroad illegally through jailed antique dealer Subhash Kapoor, they say.
Share
