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Photos: Museum showcasing our once-lost antiques opens at Purana Qila

A 10th century sculpture of Mahisasurmardini stolen from Uttarakhand, and retrieved from the Metropolitan museum in New York in August 2018; a marble sculpture of Brahma and Brahmani stolen from a museum at Patan, Gujarat and recovered from London in 2016; and a 6th-7th century sculpture of standing Buddha returned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1999. These are some of the objects that are on display at a new museum gallery inside the Purana Qila complex.

Updated on: Sep 02, 2019 5:49 PM IST

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Artifacts on display in the gallery of confiscated and retrieved objects, inside the Purana Qila complex in New Delhi. The gallery, a first of its kind in the country, was inaugurated on Saturday by minister of state for culture Prahlad Singh Patel. It showcases various objects that have been recovered from art galleries across the world. A sculpture of Vishnu, the Hindu God who is considered the protector, can be seen on the right. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Sep 02, 2019 5:49 PM

Artifacts on display in the gallery of confiscated and retrieved objects, inside the Purana Qila complex in New Delhi. The gallery, a first of its kind in the country, was inaugurated on Saturday by minister of state for culture Prahlad Singh Patel. It showcases various objects that have been recovered from art galleries across the world. A sculpture of Vishnu, the Hindu God who is considered the protector, can be seen on the right. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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A sculpture of the head of Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, on display at the gallery. The gallery is curated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Most of the objects retrieved are through the ministry of external affairs and other law enforcement agencies and are stored at the ASI’s central antiquity collection (CAC) or other authorities. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Sep 02, 2019 5:49 PM

A sculpture of the head of Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, on display at the gallery. The gallery is curated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Most of the objects retrieved are through the ministry of external affairs and other law enforcement agencies and are stored at the ASI’s central antiquity collection (CAC) or other authorities. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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The marble sculpture of Brahma-Brahmani on display at the gallery. The sculpture was stolen from a museum at Patan, Gujarat, in 2001 and recovered from London in 2016 by the then Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Mr. Navtej Sarna. Most of the artifacts have been handed over voluntarily by countries which possessed them. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Sep 02, 2019 5:49 PM

The marble sculpture of Brahma-Brahmani on display at the gallery. The sculpture was stolen from a museum at Patan, Gujarat, in 2001 and recovered from London in 2016 by the then Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Mr. Navtej Sarna. Most of the artifacts have been handed over voluntarily by countries which possessed them. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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A set of Buddhist images on display at the museum. “Our repository contains about 4,000 objects in the ‘retrieved and confiscated’ category. Out of these, we have selected 195 for display, depending on the uniqueness of the antiquity,” an official from the ASI said. The displayed antiquities include coins, Mughal miniatures, ivory and copper objects, as well as stone sculptures. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Sep 02, 2019 5:49 PM

A set of Buddhist images on display at the museum. “Our repository contains about 4,000 objects in the ‘retrieved and confiscated’ category. Out of these, we have selected 195 for display, depending on the uniqueness of the antiquity,” an official from the ASI said. The displayed antiquities include coins, Mughal miniatures, ivory and copper objects, as well as stone sculptures. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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A sandstone sculpture of ‘Anantashayana Vishnu’ on display at the museum. Apart from these, there are also objects that were stolen, but confiscated by authorities like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) or the Delhi crime branch and returned to the ASI. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Sep 02, 2019 5:49 PM

A sandstone sculpture of ‘Anantashayana Vishnu’ on display at the museum. Apart from these, there are also objects that were stolen, but confiscated by authorities like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) or the Delhi crime branch and returned to the ASI. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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“If we know which museum or monument the object belonged to, then we return it to them. But in cases where we cannot trace the precise origin of the antiquity or do not consider it safe to be returned to it, we retain them with the CAC and are being displayed for public in the new gallery,” the official said. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Sep 02, 2019 5:49 PM

“If we know which museum or monument the object belonged to, then we return it to them. But in cases where we cannot trace the precise origin of the antiquity or do not consider it safe to be returned to it, we retain them with the CAC and are being displayed for public in the new gallery,” the official said. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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“Most of the objects that were illegally exported were those acquired by art dealer Subhash Kapoor,” said DN Dimri, former director of antiquities at ASI. Allegedly one of the most prolific art smugglers in the world, Kapoor is currently on trial in Chennai and is charged with running a $100 million international smuggling racket. He was arrested in Frankfurt International Airport in 2011 and was extradited to Chennai the following year. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Sep 02, 2019 5:49 PM

“Most of the objects that were illegally exported were those acquired by art dealer Subhash Kapoor,” said DN Dimri, former director of antiquities at ASI. Allegedly one of the most prolific art smugglers in the world, Kapoor is currently on trial in Chennai and is charged with running a $100 million international smuggling racket. He was arrested in Frankfurt International Airport in 2011 and was extradited to Chennai the following year. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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A sandstone sculpture of Goddess Lakshmi at the gallery. “Countries are bound by the UNESCO convention of 1970 to not acquire any objects wherein there is even a little bit of doubt about the legality of its acquisition,” he added. The other means of retrieving a smuggled object, Dimri explained, is by proving its origin through detailed documentation and then negotiating its return through the India’s embassies. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Sep 02, 2019 5:49 PM

A sandstone sculpture of Goddess Lakshmi at the gallery. “Countries are bound by the UNESCO convention of 1970 to not acquire any objects wherein there is even a little bit of doubt about the legality of its acquisition,” he added. The other means of retrieving a smuggled object, Dimri explained, is by proving its origin through detailed documentation and then negotiating its return through the India’s embassies. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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