In a significant step toward rectifying historical wrongs, the United States has returned more than 1,400 looted artefacts worth approximately $10 million to India. The announcement was made on Wednesday as part of an ongoing initiative to repatriate stolen cultural treasures from South and Southeast Asia.
Among the returned items are artefacts that were recently displayed at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, including a sandstone sculpture of a celestial dancer that was illicitly removed from central India.
The celestial dancer sculpture exemplifies the complex journey many stolen artefacts undertake before being reclaimed.
Smuggled out of central India, the piece was taken to London and then sold illegally to a patron of the Met, eventually finding its way into the museum’s collection. Such cases highlight the intricate networks of looting, trafficking, and sale that have historically deprived nations of their cultural heritage.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office played a pivotal role in the restitution, citing “several ongoing investigations” into international looting networks. Two key figures implicated in these operations are Nancy Wiener and Subhash Kapoor, both convicted art traffickers.
Subhash Kapoor, an antiquities dealer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar looting enterprise through his New York gallery. Arrested in Germany in 2011, Kapoor was extradited to Tamil Nadu, India, where he faces charges. While the United States issued an arrest warrant for Kapoor in 2012, his extradition to the US remains pending as he serves his sentence in India.
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William Walker, New York’s Homeland Security Investigation special agent in charge, hailed the repatriation as a major success. “Today’s repatriation marks another victory in what has been a multiyear international investigation into antiquities trafficked by one of history’s most prolific offenders,” Walker stated.
The recovered artefacts were formally handed over to Indian representatives at a ceremony held at the Indian Consulate in New York. This event marked yet another milestone in the growing cultural collaboration between India and the United States.
In July 2024, the two nations signed an agreement to safeguard cultural property, aimed at curbing illegal trade and expediting the return of stolen antiquities. This cooperative framework has already borne fruit, with the US returning 297 artefacts to India in September alone.
These items, spanning nearly 4,000 years (from 2000 BCE to 1900 CE), include terracotta sculptures from Eastern India, as well as artefacts crafted from stone, metal, wood, and ivory.
The recent restitution is part of a broader effort by the US to return cultural property to India. Since 2016, the US government has facilitated the return of hundreds of trafficked or stolen artefacts:
- In June 2016, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, 10 artefacts were repatriated.
- In September 2021, 157 antiquities were returned.
- In June 2023, another 105 items were handed over.
With the addition of these 1,400 items, the total number of cultural artefacts returned by the US to India since 2016 has reached 578, making the US the leading country in returning cultural heritage to India.
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The Ministry of External Affairs has underscored the importance of these efforts, noting that the restitution of stolen artefacts reflects the strengthening cultural ties between India and the US. In a statement, the ministry said, “In recent times, restitution of cultural property has become an important aspect of India-US cultural understanding and exchange.”
The return of these antiquities not only restores India’s rich cultural legacy but also sends a strong message about the global importance of preserving and respecting cultural heritage. As the fight against antiquities trafficking continues, these efforts stand as a testament to the power of international cooperation in reclaiming stolen history.