Australia’s National Museum to return 14 historic artworks to India

The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) has decided to return 14 artefacts to the Indian Government that were acquired between 1989 and 2000. The Canberra-based gallery had acquired these works of art from an infamous art dealer Subhash Kapoor, who was arrested in 2011 and is now serving his sentence in an Indian jail.

The NGA from its Asian art collection will be returning 13 objects that they got from Subhash Kapoor and a bronze sculpture from a Tamil Nadu temple. The artefacts include six bronze or stone sculptures, a brass processional standard, a painted scroll, and six photographs.
The Tamil Nadu state Government would get back two bronze sculptures of a child-saint Sambandar belonging from the 12th century Chola dynasty. The other artefacts belong to Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

In a press release, the National Gallery said that it will no longer hold any works acquired through Subhash Kapoor. As per the release, “The decision to return the works is the culmination of years of research, due diligence and an evolving framework for decision-making that includes both legal principles and ethical considerations.”

India is grateful to Australia and NGA for their decision to return these extraordinary pieces of art to 🇮🇳@MEAIndia @dfat https://t.co/PTj93M3Rsm

— India in Australia (@HCICanberra) July 29, 2021

The local media quoted NGA director that three other sculptures received by the museum from Art of the Past have also been removed from the NGA’s collection.

Reportedly, the NGA in 2014, had also returned a Nataraj bronze sculpture to the Indian Government, which was also sourced from Kapoor.