The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art will return three ancient sculptures to India after research confirmed they were illegally removed from temples in Tamil Nadu, according to a report by The Times of India (TOI).
The sculptures, Shiva Nataraja (Chola period, ca. 990), Somaskanda (Chola period, 12th century) and Saint Sundarar with Paravai (Vijayanagar period, 16th century), represent some of the finest examples of South Indian bronze casting traditions.
As part of the restitution process, the Government of India has agreed to place the Shiva Nataraja on long-term loan to the Smithsonian. This will allow the museum to display the work while also sharing its full provenance history, including how it was removed and returned. It will feature in the exhibition “The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas.”
“The National Museum of Asian Art is committed to stewarding cultural heritage responsibly and advancing transparency in our collection,” museum director Chase F Robinson said.
According to TOI, the museum began a systematic review of its South Asian collection and launched a detailed investigation into the provenance of the three bronzes. In 2023, researchers working with the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry confirmed that the sculptures had been photographed in Tamil Nadu temples between 1956 and 1959. The Archaeological Survey of India later reviewed the findings and affirmed that the works were removed in violation of Indian law.
The Shiva Nataraja originally belonged to the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara Temple in Thanjavur district and was photographed there in 1957. It was later acquired by the museum in 2002 from the Doris Wiener Gallery in New York. A Smithsonian researcher later found that the gallery had provided falsified documentation to facilitate the sale.
The Somaskanda was traced to the Visvanatha Temple in Alattur village, Mannarkudi taluk, while Saint Sundarar with Paravai came from the Shiva Temple in Veerasolapuram village, Kallakuruchchi taluk. Both were part of a gift of 1,000 objects received by the museum.
The move reflects a wider global trend of museums reassessing collections built during periods of weak documentation and returning artefacts proven to have been illicitly removed from their countries of origin, TOI reported.
The sculptures, Shiva Nataraja (Chola period, ca. 990), Somaskanda (Chola period, 12th century) and Saint Sundarar with Paravai (Vijayanagar period, 16th century), represent some of the finest examples of South Indian bronze casting traditions.
As part of the restitution process, the Government of India has agreed to place the Shiva Nataraja on long-term loan to the Smithsonian. This will allow the museum to display the work while also sharing its full provenance history, including how it was removed and returned. It will feature in the exhibition “The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas.”
“The National Museum of Asian Art is committed to stewarding cultural heritage responsibly and advancing transparency in our collection,” museum director Chase F Robinson said.
According to TOI, the museum began a systematic review of its South Asian collection and launched a detailed investigation into the provenance of the three bronzes. In 2023, researchers working with the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry confirmed that the sculptures had been photographed in Tamil Nadu temples between 1956 and 1959. The Archaeological Survey of India later reviewed the findings and affirmed that the works were removed in violation of Indian law.
The Shiva Nataraja originally belonged to the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara Temple in Thanjavur district and was photographed there in 1957. It was later acquired by the museum in 2002 from the Doris Wiener Gallery in New York. A Smithsonian researcher later found that the gallery had provided falsified documentation to facilitate the sale.
The Somaskanda was traced to the Visvanatha Temple in Alattur village, Mannarkudi taluk, while Saint Sundarar with Paravai came from the Shiva Temple in Veerasolapuram village, Kallakuruchchi taluk. Both were part of a gift of 1,000 objects received by the museum.
The move reflects a wider global trend of museums reassessing collections built during periods of weak documentation and returning artefacts proven to have been illicitly removed from their countries of origin, TOI reported.
