Tamil Nadu to get back three more of its idols soon

India would soon get back three more of its stolen idols, all Chola-era bronzes from Tamil Nadu. They
include a Shiva Chandrasekhara idol stolen from Sripuranthan temple in
Ariyalur district by jailed idol smuggler Subhash Kapoor, an exquisitely carved
Nataraja and his consort Sivakamasundari. Kapoor is now lodged in Trichy prison in Tamil Nadu. 

Busting yet another
major idol smuggling racket, the US attorney for the southern district of New
York and an acting special agent of the Department of Homeland Security
announced on January 11 the filing of a civil complaint seeking forfeiture of
35 Cambodian and Southeast Asian antiquities from a private American collection
for the purpose of returning them to their countries of origin.

This is a tremendous
result for us as we have been looking for the Chola bronze Shiva Chandrasekhara
stolen from Sripuranthan by Subhash Kapoor for over a decade now. Today we can
disclose that homeland security agents have traced it and successfully taken
possession of the bronze from an American collector,” said India Pride Project
cofounder S. Vijay Kumar. The organization constitutes art enthusiasts, who
work to restore stolen Indian antiquities. Antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford
sold the collection to its present owner, the American collector with false
statements and fake provenance documents intended to hide the fact the
antiquities were the products of looting, and then imported them through lies
on customs paperwork, said a release from the US attorney office’s office. The
collector has voluntarily relinquished possession of the antiquities, it added.

The American collector
had obtained many Cambodian artefacts from now deceased dealer Douglas
Latchford as well as the Chandrasekhara bronze which Latchford purchased from
Kapoor. “This proved crucial as we could provide clear matches from the
pre-theft in situ photographs from the French institute in Pondicherry. Further,
the same collector had also in his possession the beautiful Chola bronze
Nataraja and his consort Sivakamasundari which has also been taken over,” said
Vijay Kumar. The Tamil Nadu idol wing, led by ADGP Jayanth Murali, is yet to be
apprised of the development. Latchford started his collecting odyssey on stolen
Chola bronzes and his apartments in Bangkok and London prominently featured
them. “We are still searching for many such tainted Kapoor and Latchford
artefacts and today’s result should show the collecting lobby that there is no
running away from such actions. They should consider doing the right thing,
which is to return the stolen Gods,” said Vijay Kumar.

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