US Returns 1,400+ Stolen Artefacts Valued at $10 Million to India
The US has returned over 1,400 looted artefacts worth $10 million to India, marking a significant step in the repatriation of stolen cultural property. These items, including a celestial dancer sculpture, were recovered through ongoing investigations into art trafficking networks and were formally handed over at a ceremony in New York.
Artefacts
In a significant step to combat the illegal trafficking of cultural artefacts, the United States has returned over 1,400 looted artefacts valued at $10 million to India. This repatriation is part of an ongoing effort to return stolen art from South and Southeast Asia. Among the recovered items are pieces that were once displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, including a sandstone sculpture of a celestial dancer that had been smuggled from India to London before being illegally sold to a museum patron.
The return is the result of several investigations into looting networks, particularly those run by notorious art traffickers such as Nancy Wiener and Subhash Kapoor. Kapoor, a convicted antiquities dealer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar trafficking ring. After his arrest in Germany in 2011, he was extradited to India to face charges, with an arrest warrant from the U.S. pending.
The repatriation was celebrated in a ceremony at the Indian consulate in New York. This is part of broader efforts between the U.S. and India to curb illegal trade and expedite the return of stolen cultural treasures. In September, the U.S. had already returned 297 antiquities spanning 4,000 years of history, ranging from terracotta and stone items to wooden and ivory works originating from various regions of India.
Since 2016, the U.S. has returned a total of 578 cultural artefacts to India, marking a significant achievement in international cooperation on cultural property restitution.
