Sat Nov 16 18:47:19 UTC 2024: ## US Returns Over 1,400 Looted Indian Antiquities Valued at $10 Million
**New York, November 17, 2024** – The United States has returned over 1,440 Indian antiquities, valued at $10 million, to India. The repatriation ceremony included a sandstone sculpture of a celestial dancer looted from a Madhya Pradesh temple in the 1980s and a green-grey schist sculpture of the Tanesar Mother Goddess stolen from Rajasthan in the 1960s. Both sculptures were displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) before being seized by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU) in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The celestial dancer sculpture was smuggled into New York in 1992, having been cleaved in two for easier transportation. The Tanesar Mother Goddess, originally documented in the 1950s, was part of a group of 12 mother goddesses stolen in the early 1960s. It appeared in a Manhattan gallery by 1968.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. stated that these antiquities were recovered as part of ongoing investigations into several criminal trafficking networks, including those involving alleged trafficker Subhash Kapoor and convicted trafficker Nancy Wiener. He emphasized the continued investigation into networks targeting Indian cultural heritage. The DA’s office has recovered over 2,100 antiquities stolen from more than 30 countries, valued at nearly $230 million, during Bragg’s tenure. A further 600+ Indian antiquities are slated for repatriation in the coming months. The repatriation was facilitated by the Consulate General of India and Homeland Security Investigations in New York.
First Piper 