As per the latest development, the New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that it will be returning 15 Indian sculptures after it learned that the items were trafficked.
As per the press release from the museum, it stated that all the works were sold by Subhash Kapoor, a convicted Indian-American antiquities smuggler, and that Kapoor was arrested by Interpol in Germany in 2011 and is currently imprisoned in India.
From West Bengal’s Yakshi Terracotta to Madhya Pradesh’s sandstone Celestial Dancer (Apsara) valued at more than $1 million, if reports are to go by, the artefacts range in date from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE. The long list further includes stone, terracotta, copper, a ceramic pot from Chandraketugarh, the God of Love, from the second half of the 8th century C.E, a stone bust of Kamadeva, and a Svetambara enthroned Jina.
Reports have it that the said art dealer was charged by prosecutors in Manhattan in 2019 with possessing and stealing artefacts, worth millions of dollars, and which were smuggled over a period of 30 years. The Tamil Nadu court sentenced Kapoor to 10 years jail time in November 2022.
The press further added that the Met contacted Homeland Security about its works from Kapoor in 2015, and started acting on this matter, which resulted in the criminal investigation of Subhash Kapoor by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
The museum also stated that it will adhere to responsible purchase of antiquities, and that it has set in place strict standards for new acquisitions and its existing collection. It added that respecting its long association with the Indian government, the Met is pleased to take action in the incident, and do the needful.
