Introduction
The US government has handed over four tons of ancient idols, which were looted from Nepal and smuggled to the US over the years, to the Nepalese authorities on Tuesday.
The four priceless artifacts, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, were recovered by the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as part of their ongoing efforts to combat the illicit trade of cultural heritage.
The artifacts include two masks of Vaata Bhairav, a fierce manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva, and three statues of Shiva and his consorts Parvati (Uma Maheshwar) and Durga (Dhungako).
Handover Ceremony
The handover ceremony was held at the Nepalese Consulate General in New York, where US Manhattan District Attorney Albin L. Bragg, Jr. presented the artifacts to Nepal’s Acting Consul General Vishnuprasad Gautam.
Acting Consul General Gautam thanked the US authorities for their cooperation and support in repatriating the stolen idols, which he said were “an important part of Nepal’s cultural heritage and national identity”.
He also said that the return of the artifacts was “a significant step in preserving and protecting the cultural wealth of Nepal” and “a major contribution to the recovery and restoration of cultural property”.
District Attorney Bragg praised the work of the HSI and his office’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, which he said had “recovered and returned thousands of stolen and looted antiquities from around the world”.
He also expressed his commitment to “dismantle the criminal networks that traffic in our shared cultural heritage, no matter how sophisticated or complex” and to “continue to collaborate with our partners in Nepal and elsewhere to locate and recover other historic objects of Nepal”.
Background of the Investigation
The District Attorney’s Office said that the four artifacts were among the hundreds of items that were identified as stolen from Nepal by a joint investigation by the HSI and the Nepalese authorities, which began in 2015.
The investigation revealed that the artifacts were smuggled out of Nepal by various individuals and organizations, and sold to collectors and dealers in the US and other countries.
The District Attorney’s Office said that it had worked closely with the Nepalese Consulate General, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Archaeology, and other relevant agencies of Nepal to verify the provenance and ownership of the artifacts, and to facilitate their return.
Future Plans
The Nepalese Consulate General said that the repatriated idols would be sent to Nepal by the end of this week, and would be displayed at the National Museum of Nepal in Kathmandu.
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