New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US said that 16 of the Indian works in its collections, which were linked to jailed smuggler Subhash Kapoor, have been returned to India.
Max Hollein, the museum director, had earlier this month announced that 16 pieces, including the Celestial Dancer sculpture, were returned to India due to new evidence of their provenance.“Last month, in light of new provenance information, we returned 16 works to India, including the Celestial Dancer, a sculpture that enraptured visitors for decades," Hollein was saying. The "celestial dancer" is a reference to the 11th-century sandstone sculpture of an 'Apsara' from Madhya Pradesh.
Sculpture is worth more than $1 million. According to reports, the sculpture was a part of the Met collection that has been connected to Kapoor, who is presently serving a 10-year prison sentence in Tamil Nadu after being found guilty of smuggling antiquities. According to sources, repatriated antiquities are normally transferred to Indian officials abroad, who subsequently notify the ASI, the curator of such artefacts.
A team sent by the ASI verifies and documents the objects, following which a decision is taken about their physical return to India. In its statement, the Met announced that it would conduct an "intensive review" of its collection. and the process of acquiring works and artefacts. The museum has formed a committee to review the process of acquiring works and artefacts. They would also hire a manager of provenance research to investigate the origin of its assets.