The Met Museum, one of America’s largest museums, has been facing the heat for a while now over housing stolen antiquities that belong to India and other Asian countries.
On March 22, 2023, the Manhattan’s District Attorney’s office issued a warrant to seize 15 sculptures that were illegally trafficked from India by the art dealer Subhash Kapoor. The officials of the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations executed the warrant on Thursday, March 30, 2023, prompting The Met Museum to release a press-statement.
The Met Museum has committed to the transfer of the 15 artworks to the Government of India. Take a look.
Apsara – Celestial Dancer
A sandstone sculpture of a celestial dancer is valued at more than $1,000,000.
Curatorial Note: This life-size sandstone sculpture is an extraordinary rending of a heavenly celebrant performing in honor of the gods. The dancer’s face and body are treated according to prescribed canons of beauty. Her body is contorted in an improbably pose, her legs projecting to her right while her upper torso and head turn sharply left. The extreme flexion reflects dance positions (karunas and sthanas) described in the Natyasastra, an ancient dramatic arts treatise. It is understood in Indian aesthetics that such positions enhance the appreciation of beauty.
Kamadeva, the God of Love
The stone bust is valued at $23,500.
Curatorial Note: Though rarely represented in Kashmiri art, Kama, the god of love, is here identified by a wondrous mythical creature (makara), who spews arrows from its jaws. The bow and arrow and a pair of lovebirds are Kamadeva’s principal identifiers. This subject is a rare survivor from early medieval Kashmir.
The God Revanta Returning from a Hunt
The bronze sculpture is valued at $20,000.
Svetambara Enthroned Jina, with Attendant Yaksha and Yakshi
This metal sculpture (copper alloy inlaid with silver and copper) is valued at $17,500.
Curatorial Note: The jina is represented as a supreme yoga and acharya, an illustrious religious teacher. Elevated on a stepped cushioned throne supported by lions and elephants, symbols of bravery and strength, this tirthankhara embodies the Jain virtue of spiritual wisdom. An openwork back plate (now missing) would have evoked the heavenly palace in which he resides, accompanied by celestial adorers.
His principal attendants—a seated yaksha and yakshi—flank the throne, and kneeling deer listen to the teachings symbolized by the wheel (dharmachakra) at the center of the throne pedestal. This icon was once gilded—traces can still be detected—in keeping with the desire that it emit a sacred aura like that achieved by light reflecting off gold. Indian religions have long seen the ability to absorb and radiate light as indicative of divinity.
A Ceramic Pot
The ceramic pot is valued at $25,000.
Yakshi Holding a Crowned Child with a Visiting Parrot
This terracotta sculpture is valued at $20,000.
Yakshi Holding a Crowned Child
This terracotta sculpture is valued at $20,000.
A ceramic vessel from Chandraketugarh
This ceramic vessel is valued at $20,000
A Parikara (Backplate)
This metal (brass inlaid with silver and copper) backplate is valued at $17,500
Rattle in the Form of a Crouching Grotesque Yaksha (Male Nature Spirit)
This terracotta rattle is valued at $5,500
Two other rattles, from the same period that will be returned including this one that is listed on the museum’s website as “on view”.
Panel with Krishna and Gopis
This ivory panel is valued at $4,000
Tile with Impressed Figure Carrying a Festoon of Flowers
This terracotta tile is valued at $2,200