New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that it will return 15 Indian sculptures after it learnt that the items were trafficked. The press release stated that all the works were sold by Subhash Kapoor, a convicted Indian-American antiquities smuggler. Kapoor was arrested by Interpol in Germany in 2011 and is currently imprisoned in India.
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From Madhya Pradesh’s sandstone Celestial Dancer (Apsara) valued at more than $1 million to West Bengal’s Yakshi Terracotta from, the artifacts range in date from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE, according to the Indian Express. The list, which includes terracotta, copper and stone, also features a ceramic pot from Chandraketugarh, a stone bust of Kamadeva, the God of Love, from the second half of the 8th century C.E, a Svetambara enthroned Jina.
In 2019, the disgraced art dealer was charged by prosecutors in Manhattan with stealing and possessing millions of dollars worth of artefacts over a period of 30 years. Kapoor was sentenced to 10 years jail time in November 2022 by a Tamil Nadu court.
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Also read: US returns antiquities to India in stolen art investigation
“The Met contacted Homeland Security about its works from Kapoor in 2015 and is pleased to be acting on this matter today as a result of the criminal investigation into Subhash Kapoor by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office,” the statement read.
The museum added that they will adhere to responsible purchase of antiquities and has set in place strict standards for new acquisitions and its existing collection. It is currently vetting the details of works acquired from suspicious dealers. Respecting its long association with the Indian government, the Met is pleased to take action in the incident, the note said.
In October 2022, the US restored 307 archaeological items, worth nearly 4 million dollars stolen by multiple trafficking rings, to India. The items were handed over during a repatriation ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York attended by India’s Consul General Randhir Jaiswal.
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Additionally, the Met has also now removed three Turkish pieces from its Greek and Roman galleries.
(With agency inputs)
