Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has announced that it will return three historic South Indian bronze sculptures to India after provenance research established that the works had been illegally removed from temple settings decades ago.
The museum on January 28 stated that one of the sculptures, a Chola-period “Shiva Nataraja,” will remain in the US on a long-term loan agreed upon with the Indian government, allowing the museum to continue displaying the sculptures.
Sacred objects
The three sculptures — “Shiva Nataraja” (Chola period, ca. 990), “Somaskanda” (Chola period, 12th century), and “Saint Sundarar with Paravai” (Vijayanagar period, 16th century) — are regarded as important examples of South Indian bronzecasting traditions, a media release said. They were originally sacred objects carried in temple processions in Tamil Nadu.
In 2023, researchers working with the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry confirmed that the three bronzes had been photographed in temples in Tamil Nadu between 1956 and 1959. The Archaeological Survey of India later determined that the sculptures had been removed in violation of Indian law. The museum said it is working closely with the Embassy of India to finalise arrangements marking the agreement. According to the museum, the “Shiva Nataraja” originally belonged to the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara Temple in Tirutturaippundi in Tamil Nadu.
The sculpture was later acquired by the National Museum of Asian Art from the Doris Wiener Gallery in New York in 2002. Museum researchers found that the gallery had provided falsified documentation to facilitate the sale.
Gifted items
The other two sculptures entered the museum’s collection as part of a 1987 gift of about 1,000 objects from Arthur M. Sackler. Research confirmed that the “Somaskanda” was photographed at the Visvanatha Temple in Alattur village in 1959, while the “Saint Sundarar with Paravai” was photographed at a Shiva temple in Veerasolapuram village in 1956. For decades, India has been seeking the return of cultural artefacts removed illegally from temples and archaeological sites.
