Extant bust portion depicting a two-armed male deity wearing an ornamented headgear
The US has handed over to India 297 antiquities during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These antiquities were smuggled out of the country and were recovered. Trafficking of cultural property is a longstanding issue that has affected many cultures and countries throughout history, and India has been particularly hit.
“Deepening cultural connect and strengthening the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural properties. I am extremely grateful to President Biden and the US Government for ensuring the return of 297 invaluable antiquities to India,” PM Modi said on X.
He thanked President Joe Biden for his support in the return of these artefacts. He noted that these objects were not just part of India’s historical material culture, but formed the inner core of its civilisation and consciousness.
With this, the total number of ancient items recovered by India since 2014 has gone to 640, officials said, adding the number returned from the US alone will be 578. This is the maximum number of cultural artefacts returned by any country to India.
Some details of the antiquities returned by the US:
Image of Jain Tirthankara meditating over a high pedestal supported by pair of lion and elephant. A male and female attendant deity are also seen on either sides.
Image depicting four armed Krishna in the form of Venugopal standing along with a cow.
Broken plaque depicting bust portion of an ornate winged female figure holding full blown flower stalk in her hands.
Image depicting a female dancing before a male playing musical instrument.
Some of the notable antiquities handed over to India include an ‘apsara’ in sandstone from central India belonging to 10-11th century CE, a Jain Tirthankar in bronze belonging to 15-16th century CE, terracotta vase from eastern India belonging to 3-4th century CE, and a stone sculpture from South India belonging to 1st century BCE-1st century CE.