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OPINION EDITORIAL

Published: September 24, 2016 03:40 IST | Updated: September 24, 2016 03:40 IST September 24, 2016

Raiders of hidden arks

The return to India of three ancient sculptures from the National Gallery of Australia is another milestone in the long and difficult
campaign waged by several countries to repossess their cultural treasures, which have often been bought by museums from idol smugglers. As
the provenance of the artefacts the 900-year old statues of Goddess Pratyangira and Seated Buddha, and the third century Worshippers of
Buddha became clear, the only ethical course open to the Australian gallery was to restore the sculptures, which it must be commended for
pursuing. Evidently, the two icons other than the sandstone Seated Buddha were acquired from a New York-based art dealer, Subhash
Kapoor, for about $840,000 on the strength of fake documentation: he is now facing prosecution in Tamil Nadu. These are by no means
isolated instances. In June, the United States formally returned to India about 200 stolen cultural objects, which include 2,000-year-old
artefacts, part of a $100 million trove unearthed by an investigation of Kapoors art business. What emerges from these long battles to reclaim
articles that constitute cultural heritage is the insight that a dedicated national agency with State government support would be better
equipped to fight the scourge of theft and illicit transfer. With trained personnel, it could devote itself to the task of documenting antiquities
and ensuring that the countrys ports are sealed against smuggling.
The National Gallery of Australias inquiry into the status of its Asian art objects conducted by a retired judge, Susan Crennan, has had the
positive outcome of identifying 22 articles that have questionable or doubtful credentials, 14 of which were purchased from Kapoor. Many of
the findings in the Australian review underscore the importance of creating a strong repository of information of all Indian antiquities,
backed up by unimpeachable forensic records, so that they may be claimed without difficulty at a future date. A lot of the illicit trade has been
carried out by smugglers who have laundered the provenance of idols using fake documentation designed to overcome the prohibition
imposed by the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 on non-governmental exports. Providentially, it is the records of a research institution
such as the French Institute of Pondicherry that helped establish the claim to the 11th-12th century Nataraja idol stolen from Tamil Nadu in
2006. Documentation of antiquities using public and private records should become a national mission. These treasures could then be put on
display in national museums.
Printable version | Sep 24, 2016 1:19:03 PM | http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/return-of-indian-sculptures-from-australiaraiders-of-hidden-arks/article9141343.ece
The Hindu

24-Sep-16 1:19 PM