''The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution. The solution he and his fellow advocates propose emphasizes “acts of transparency,” starting with the restitution of ancestral cultural objects that were expropriated during colonial times. They point out that many of these objects were obtained through theft, violence, or duplicity, and assert that holding on to them would deprive formerly colonized people, including indigenous populations, of their living heritage, which forms a part of their identity''.
........................................Archeologist and curator Dan Hicks in his book ''The Brutish Museums''
The theft of Hindu antique idols, particularly made of metal alloy has assumed menacing proportion in the last two decades for reasons of its antique value, antiquity and unique workmanship. In the area of investigation and recovery of stolen idols from Tamil Nadu the Idol Wing Police of TN has made considerable contribution despite certain technical and administrative hurdles.
In July-August 2022 the recovery of 12th century idol of goddess Parvathi that went missing in 1971 from Nadanapureshwarar temple at Thandanthottam, now Kumbakonam District, TN after a long span of 50 years is not an easy achievement. The Idol Wing that, in the recent past, got into the investigation finally traced the trail to Bonhams Auction House in New York where it was to be sold at an auction.
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| idol of goddess Parvati Kumbakonam, TN. indiatimes.com |
Above image: Parvati idol in tribhanga pose was stolen in 1971
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| stolen bronze Idol of Parvati, TN theweek.in |
The burglary of five idols, including the Parvati idol, Thandanthottam Natarajar idol and Golu Amman idol, at the temple was reported a day after on May 13, 1971 by the temple authorities, the nearby Nachiyar Koil police didn't register a case for unknown reasons, according to the additional director general of police (ADGP) of idol wing CID, Jayanth Murali.
When DMK was the ruling party of the state, no action as taken on the missing idols by the HR & CE and consequently the case went cold for decades. Only on February 14, 2019 Idol Wing CID Police registered a case based on a complaint. After a detailed search of various museums and auction houses world over the woman inspector in charge of the assignment one Chitra finally zoomed in on the Bonhams Auction House in New York. .The centuries old 52 cm tall idol made of copper and and other metals with specific composition was very much at the auction house with price tag of whopping Rs 168 crore (US$ 212,575).
temple theft, India. vtvgujarati.com
During the reign of Pallava king Nandivarman, 8th century the temple from where the idol was stolen was a popular one and it was later patronized by the Chola dynasty. Nadanapureeswarar Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is on the banks of the Arasalaru at Thandanthottam Village near Kumbakonam. Here Lord's consort is Shivagama Sundari. The Temple is considered as Thevara Vaippu Sthalam and Tamil saint Appar sang Devaram devotional hymns in prise of God Shiva.
The “Seppedugal” (copper inscriptions of the ancient times) belonging to the Pallava Era found in Thandanthottam explain that this town was an active one during the Pallava and Chola eras. Nandivarman II, the Pallava king ruled Kanchipuram in the 8th century and also had built the Sri Vaikunda Perumal temple during his reign here.
Thanks to the untiring efforts of the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing Criminal Investigation Department (CID), an idol of Goddess Parvati, which went missing from the Nadanapureshwarar Sivan Temple at Thandanthottam, Kumbakonam, half a century ago, was traced to New York’s Bonhams Auction House. The idol Wing already got the papers ready through the central government in accordance with protocols to get the bronze idol back to the temple from the US.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/93441347.cms?
