The US has returned more than 1,400 stolen artefacts to India, worth a total of $10 million. The return process is part of an ongoing effort to recover historical artifacts stolen from countries in South and Southeast Asia, the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.
The return includes an 11th-century sculpture (deity) of a divine dancer from Madhya Pradesh, India, which was originally smuggled to London from Central India. It was then illegally sold to a donor to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and donated to the museum.
This return process is made possible by several ongoing investigations. These investigations involve the criminal network of prominent American antiquities smugglers Nancy Weiner and Subodh Kapoor. Kapoor was the operator of an extensive network selling stolen antiquities through a gallery in New York. He was arrested in Germany in 2011 and later sent to face trial in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
An arrest warrant was issued for Kapoor by the Manhattan district attorney in 2012, but he is currently in judicial custody in India awaiting extradition to the United States.
A formal recovery ceremony for these historic items was held at the Indian Embassy in New York on Wednesday.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s anti-trafficking division has seized more than 5,800 historic items over the past decade, with a total value of nearly $460 million. The department has so far convicted 16 people on trafficking charges and filed applications for the extradition of 6 more.
In July, the US signed an agreement with India to protect cultural property and stop illegal trade, as well as facilitate the return of stolen goods to India.
This restitution process has been an important step in the preservation of world cultural heritage.