Smithsonian museum inks pact to return 3 antique statues stolen from Tamil Nadu temples to India

WASHINGTON: (Mar 27) Three antique sculptures are set to return to India from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art after research established that they were stolen from temples in Tamil Nadu.

India’s Deputy Chief of Mission in the US Namgya Khampa signed an agreement here with National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) Director Chase Robinson for the return of a ninth-century Shiva Nataraja bronze, a 12th-century sculpture of Shiva and Uma, and a 16th-century depiction of Saint Sundarar with Paravi.

“Three invaluable antiquities are returning home to India from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art: a 9th-century Shiva Nataraja bronze, a 12th-century sculpture of Shiva and Uma, and a 16th-century depiction of Saint Sundarar with Paravi,” the Indian Embassy in the US said in a post on X.