Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday, said India has successfully repatriated three historic bronze statues belonging to Tamil Nadu from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in the United States.
He called the development a significant milestone in India’s ongoing efforts to bring back stolen cultural treasures and strengthen ethical museum practices globally.
The repatriated bronzes include a Chola-period Shiva Nataraja, dating to circa 990 CE, a 12th-century Somaskanda (Shiva and Uma) and a 16th-century Vijayanagara-period sculpture of Saint Sundarar with Paravai.
These sacred temple bronzes had been illicitly removed from India in the mid-20th century and subsequently housed abroad.
“Antiquities are not merely artistic objects but embodiments of India’s spiritual traditions, historical continuity and civilisational memory. Illicit trafficking of antiquities had deprived India of several invaluable cultural treasures over decades," the culture minister said at a presser at the National Museum here.
Detailing the methods adopted in repatriating the antiquities, Shekhawat said the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), through extensive provenance research using archival records, field documentation and historical temple photographs from the 1950s and 1960s, successfully traced the arte facts to their original temple sites in Tamil Nadu.
He also said as a goodwill gesture and in support of responsible museum engagement, the Centre has agreed to a three-year loan arrangement for the Shiva Nataraja sculpture from 2025 to 2028, allowing audiences worldwide to understand its complete historical journey from origin to repatriation.
According to the government, the Nataraja sculpture dates to the Chola period, around 990 CE and was documented at the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara temple in Thanjavur district in 1957.
The Somaskanda bronze, also from the Chola period (12th century), was photographed in 1959 at the Visvanatha temple in Alattur village.
The Sundarar with Paravai bronze, from the Vijayanagara period (16th century), was photographed in 1956 at a Shiva temple in Veerasolapuram.
All three were utsava murtis, or processional idols used in temple festivals.
The culture ministry also detailed a separate batch of 11 antiquities received in March 2026, from Australia through the High Commission of India. Eight of these were repatriated by the National Gallery of Australia and three by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Shekhwat noted that since 2014, India has successfully repatriated 666 antiquities from various countries, including 653 since 2014 alone, through sustained diplomatic, legal and institutional efforts led by the Ministry of Culture, ASI, Indian Missions abroad and enforcement agencies.
“A total of 657 art objects of Indian origin were handed over by the US law enforcement agencies to the Embassy of India in the United States recently and arrangements are underway for their transportation and verification by ASI experts," he added.
