They were seen in the US at the Cleveland Museum and Christie’s auction house
They were seen in the US at the Cleveland Museum and Christie’s auction house
The Idol Wing-CID has submitted documents through the central government to the US authorities to retrieve the Chhol-era bronze statues that went missing from the Veeracholapuram temple in Kallakurichi district in the 1960s. They were seen in the US at the Cleveland Museum and Christie’s auction house
In 2018, a lawyer Hathi G. Rajendran lodged a complaint with a special unit of the police that metal idols of Tripurantaka, Thiripurasundari and some other idols were stolen from Nareshwar Sivan temple at Veeracholapuram in the erstwhile Villupuram district (now). Kallakurichi District) 30 years ago by unknown persons. Based on his complaint, the Idol Wing started investigation.
The temple was built 900 years ago by the Chola king Rajendra Chola. The French Institute of Puducherry (IFP) also provided photographs of the sculptures taken in 1956 to the Idol Wing to further the investigation.
As the investigation progressed, the Idol Wing lists art collectors, museums and auction houses, including heritage enthusiasts and India Pride co-founder S. Started looking for idols with the help of Vijay Kumar. Investigators stumbled upon images of statues of Saint Sundarar and his wife Paravai Nachiyar, two of the antiquities stolen from the temple, on the official website of the Freire Sackler Museum of Art.
Investigations revealed that Christie’s Auction & Private Sale auctioned the Panchaloha idol of Nataraja for $231,500 in 2003 and the Panchaloha idol of Veenadhara Dakshinamurthy in 2013 for $1,203,750.
The Tripurathaka and Thiripurasundari sculptures were found on the official website of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio.
All the images were sent through Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Kumbakonam to the Director and Chemical Examiner, Department of Forensic Science for comparison. Upon examination of the photographs, experts confirmed that the images obtained from IFP, Pondicherry were compared with photographs taken from the websites of museums and the auction house.
Idol Wing-CID Director General of Police K. Jayanta Murali said, “We have sent a request letter through proper channel for repatriation of six ancient bronze metal idols/statues stolen from Veeracholapuram temple, which are currently available under Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between India and US. After successfully locating stolen statues in museums and elsewhere in the US, we have now taken steps to bring them back to India by proving ownership through documents.
Mr. Vijay Kumar said, “We have been working on these for more than five years and expect something to close soon. We think the soft diplomacy approach hasn’t helped with museums and auction houses over the years. Nations such as Italy and Cambodia have successfully launched criminal proceedings in US courts to claim their stolen artifacts based on their national ancestral laws and common law. India, too, needs to follow suit not to look weak, especially as these are objects of trust and can be traced back to the rightful owner. In fact, the Veeracholapuram temple, as the rightful owner, must sue museums and auction houses for its deities.