New York museum returns smuggled sculptures to India

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the United States of America where the famous Met Gala is hosted has returned sculptures to the Government of India.

Hyderabad: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the United States of America where the famous Met Gala is hosted has returned sculptures to the Government of India.

On Sunday, ANI reported that the sculptures were returned during a repatriation ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York which was attended by India’s Consul General Randhir Jaiswal.

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15 sculptures were reportedly smuggled and then sold to the museum by one convicted dealer Subhash Kapoor who is now serving time at a Tamil Nadu prison. The Indian American was convicted of running a million-dollar international smuggling racket.

The museum in a press release said that it has been “actively reviewing the history of antiquities” and said it will be pleased to resolve the matter, referring to the Indian sculptures.

The matter once again came to light after a recent investigation that was jointly conducted by The Indian Express and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists which claimed that as many as 10 sculptures from India were at the Met.

Mentioned art pieces were made anywhere between the 1st century BC to the 11th century CE. They are made from terracotta, copper, and stone.