Australian authorities return 2 Chola period artifacts among 14 antiques

National Gallery of Australia on Thursday said that it is returning 14 works of art and idols to the Indian government. Among the 14, two antique idols are from Tamil Nadu. The two are 12th-century child-saint Sambandar, purchased 1989, and the 12th-century dancing child-saint Sambandar, purchased 2005. Both belonged to the Chola dynasty period, a press release from NGA said.

The works of art being repatriated include 13 objects connected to art dealer Subhash Kapoor through Art of the Past and one acquired from art dealer William Wolff, release noted. Subash Kapoor, an international idol smuggler is now lodged in TN prison.

The works include six bronze and stone sculptures, a brass processional standard, a painted scroll and six photographs.

Further research will be undertaken to identify their place of origin before they are repatriated, NGA said.

National Gallery will no longer hold any works acquired through Subhash Kapoor in its collection, note added.

The decision to return the works is the culmination of years of research, due diligence and an evolving framework for decision-making that includes both legal principles and ethical considerations, press note further said.

NGA Director Nick Mitzevich said these actions demonstrated the National Gallery’s commitment to being a leader in the ethical management of collections.

“With these developments, provenance decision-making at the National Gallery will be determined by an evidence-based approach evaluated on the balance of probabilities, anchored in robust legal and ethical decision-making principles and considerations,” he said.

“As the first outcome of this change, the Gallery will be returning 14 objects from the Indian art collection to their country of origin.

“This is the right thing to do, its culturally responsible and the result of collaboration between Australia and India. We are grateful to the Indian Government for their support and are pleased we can now return these culturally significant objects.” The Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Manpreet Vohra, welcomed the decision by the Australian Government and the National Gallery to return the works.