The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington DC has announced it will return three ancient bronze sculptures to India after an internal investigation found that the artefacts had been illegally removed from a temple site.
The decision follows what the museum described as "rigorous provenance research", which confirmed that the sculptures were unlawfully taken from temple sites in Tamil Nadu and will now be handed back to the Government of India, according to a PTI report.
In a statement, the museum said the Indian government has agreed to place one of the sculptures on long-term loan, allowing the museum to continue displaying it while presenting the full history of the object’s origins, removal and return.
The arrangement, it said, reflects the museum’s commitment to transparency and ethical stewardship.
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Which sculptures will return to India?
The sculptures are a ‘Shiva Nataraja’ from the Chola period, dated to around 990; a ‘Somaskanda’ from the Chola period, 12th century; and ‘Saint Sundarar with Paravai’ from the Vijayanagar period, 16th century, the report added.
{{/usCountry}}The sculptures are a ‘Shiva Nataraja’ from the Chola period, dated to around 990; a ‘Somaskanda’ from the Chola period, 12th century; and ‘Saint Sundarar with Paravai’ from the Vijayanagar period, 16th century, the report added.
{{/usCountry}}The museum said the bronzes exemplify the sophistication of South Indian bronze casting and were originally sacred objects carried in temple processions.
The ‘Shiva Nataraja’, which will remain on long-term loan, will be displayed as part of the exhibition ‘The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas’. The museum said it is working closely with the Embassy of India to finalise arrangements marking the agreement.
How did the sculptures reach the museum?
The ‘Shiva Nataraja’ originally belonged to the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara Temple in Tirutturaippundi taluk of Tamil Nadu’s Tanjavur district, where it was photographed in 1957.
The sculpture was later acquired by the National Museum of Asian Art from the Doris Wiener Gallery in New York in 2002. The museum said its research found that the gallery had provided falsified documentation to facilitate the sale.
The ‘Somaskanda’ and ‘Saint Sundarar with Paravai’ entered the museum’s collection as part of a gift of 1,000 objects in 1987.
Further research confirmed that the ‘Somaskanda’ was photographed at the Visvanatha Temple in Alattur village, Mannarkudi taluk, in 1959, while ‘Saint Sundarar with Paravai’ was photographed at the Shiva Temple in Veerasolapuram village, Kallakuruchchi taluk, in 1956.
What was the provenance research?
According to the museum, the return was made possible by the work of its dedicated provenance research team and curators of South and Southeast Asian art, with support from the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry and several organisations and individuals worldwide.
As part of a systematic review of its South Asian collections, the National Museum of Asian Art conducted a detailed investigation into the ownership history of the three sculptures.
In 2023, working with the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry, researchers confirmed that the bronzes had been photographed in temples in Tamil Nadu between 1956 and 1959.
The Archaeological Survey of India later reviewed the findings and concluded that the sculptures had been removed in violation of Indian law.
“The National Museum of Asian Art is committed to stewarding cultural heritage responsibly and advancing transparency in our collection,” the museum’s director, Chase Robinson, said.
He added that the institution aims to understand objects “in their full complexity” by tracing not only how they entered the museum but also their origins and movements over time.
Robinson said the return of the sculptures demonstrated the museum’s commitment to ethical museum practices and thanked the Indian government for allowing the museum to continue exhibiting the “long-admired Shiva Nataraja”.
(With PTI inputs).