A 12th Century idol stolen from temple recovered from US after 50 years.
Police in New York claim they have located a stolen statue from a temple in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
According to reports, a 12-century Hindu goddess Parvati statue has been discovered at the Bonhams Auction House.
A multinational auction company founded in London, Bonhams is privately held and based there.
According to a top Tamil Nadu police officer, the Idol Wing has “prepared paperwork” for the idol’s return.
Tamil Nadu police’s Idol Wing team have traced back a 12th Century Bronze idol of lord Krishna to the United States of America and are taking efforts to bring it back. The idol is said to have been stolen and sold by idol smuggler Subash Chandra Kapoor for Rs.5.2 crores to a… pic.twitter.com/PqRv0zrzTw
— Everything Works (@HereWorks) September 6, 2023
In recent years, India has increased its attempts to recover stolen or smuggled temple statues and other artifacts.
As a 12th Century idol stolen from temple recovered from US after 50 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in February that “more than 200 valuable idols” had been returned to India since his election as Prime Minister.
India will get three bronze statues stolen from a shrine in the state of Tamil Nadu more than 40 years ago in 2020.
A bronze Nataraja statue, depicting Shiva in dancing form, was one of the most magnificent artifacts to be recovered in the last several years.
The National Gallery of Australia purchased the 900-year-old monument in 2008 for $5.1 million (£4.2 million).
In 1971, the Nadanapureshwarar Sivan temple in Tamil Nadu reported the disappearance of a Parvati deity.
After a temple trustee filed a police complaint, an investigation was launched in 2019.
A team from the Tamil Nadu police’s Idol Wing was in charge of the inquiry, which focuses on lost artifacts.
The 52cm-tall statue was one of five that had gone missing from the shrine.
It is estimated that the worth of this idol is $212,575 (£175,914), according to the police. In a standing stance, the goddess wears a crown of rings stacked on top of each other.
According to the police description, the designs in the crown are echoed in the necklaces, armbands, girdles, and outfits, enhancing the bronze texture.
By “evoking bold and time-honored aesthetic canons of the Chola dynasty,” Idol Wing’s statement stated, “the sculpture is testimony to the artist’s technical skill.”
In southern India, the Cholas held sway from the 10th through the 13th centuries.
An expert’s opinion was sought by the police in order to match an image of the idol with a Bonham’s auction house photograph.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention, 1972, states that India is a party, and so, we are authorized to claim ownership of the idol
Bonhams has yet to make a public remark.
