Over 29 antiquities, including sculptures and paintings, dating as far as 10th Century CE were repatriated to India from Australia on Monday. PM Modi, after inspecting the artefacts, thanked his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison for the initiative.
The artefacts were categorised into six groups – Shiva and his disciples, worshipping Shakti, Lord Vishnu and his forms, Jain Tradition, Portraits, and Decorative Objects.
Three more artefacts will be brought in the coming days. This includes a Yogini idol with a goat head from London, a Buddha statue from Italy, and a Hanuman idol from Australia. All these idols, officials said, have been brought to the Indian missions in the respective countries.
The oldest among the artefacts brought on Monday from Australia is a sandstone Shiva Bhairava sculpture from Rajasthan dating to the 9th or 10th century CE, and another sandstone sculpture from 10th to 11th century stolen from Rajasthan or Uttar Pradesh of Lakshmi and Vishnu.
In all, ministry officials said, India has repatriated 241 stolen idols. Officials of the ministry said that only 13 artefacts were recovered before 2014, and 228 after that.
The 29 artefacts also include a frieze of an arch Jain shrine, dating to 11 or 12th century CE from Rajasthan’s Mount Abu. Among the portraits is one of Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad Yamin dated 1903 by Lala Deen Dayal & Sons and ‘Portrait of a Gentleman’ from 1875 Rajasthan’s Nathwada.
During PM Modi’s visit to the US in 2016, 157 idols were pledged to be repatriated; officials said that all of them are back. During his visit to Australia, former Australian PM Tony Abbott returned a 900-year-old Shiva sculpture smuggled by art dealer Subhash Kapoor.
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