The Smithsonian has agreed to return three sacred bronze sculptures to India after research showed they were illegally removed from Tamil Nadu temples decades ago. (Image Credit: Shiva Nataraja (Lord of Dance); India, Tamil Nadu state, Chola dynasty, ca. 990; bronze; On loan from the Government of India; photo by National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution)
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art announced on Friday its plans to return three sculptures to India, following what it calls “rigorous provenance research that documented that the sculptures had been removed illegally from temple settings”.
These bronze sculptures include ‘Shiva Nataraja’ (Chola period, 10th century), ‘Somaskanda’ (Chola period, 12th century), and ‘Saint Sundarar with Paravai’ (Vijayanagar period, 16th century). These were among some of the sacred idols carried in temple processions.
As per a statement released by the museum, “As part of a systematic review of its South Asian collections, the National Museum of Asian Art undertook a detailed investigation into the provenance of the three sculptures, scrutinising each work’s transaction history.”
“In 2023, in collaboration with the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry, museum researchers confirmed that the bronzes had been photographed in temples in Tamil Nadu, India, between 1956 and 1959,” it said in the statement about the reasons for returning the objects.
Subsequently, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reviewed these findings and affirmed that the sculptures had been removed in violation of Indian laws.
The ‘Shiva Nataraja’ belonged to the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara Temple in Thiruthuraipoondi taluk in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district, where it was photographed in 1957. The bronze sculpture was later acquired by the National Museum of Asian Art from Doris Wiener Gallery in New York in 2002. In addition to photographic evidence confirming the sculpture’s presence in the temple in 1957, a provenance researcher at the museum determined that the Doris Wiener Gallery had provided falsified documentation to facilitate the sale to the museum.
The ‘Somaskanda’ and ‘Saint Sundarar with Paravai’ sculptures entered the collection of the National Museum of Asian Art as part of a gift of 1,000 objects from Arthur M Sackler in 1987. Research led by the museum’s team at the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry confirmed that the ‘Somaskanda’ was photographed at the Visvanatha Temple in Alattur village in Tamil Nadu’s Mannargudi taluk in 1959, and the ‘Saint Sundarar with Paravai’ at the Shiva Temple in Veerasolapuram village in Kallakurichi taluk of Tamil Nadu in 1956.
“The National Museum of Asian Art is committed to stewarding cultural heritage responsibly and advancing transparency in our collection,” said Chase F Robinson, the museum’s director, adding, “The return of these sculptures, the result of rigorous research, shows our commitment to ethical museum practice.”
The Ministry of Culture has agreed to place one of the sculptures on long-term loan to allow the museum to publicly share the full story of the object’s origins, removal and return, and to underscore the museum’s commitment to provenance research. The ‘Shiva Nataraja’, which is to be placed on long-term loan, will be on view as part of the exhibition ‘The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas’.
Curated by Aisha Patel
