US museum returns 10th century stolen Shiva statue to Nepal

A US museum has returned a 10th century Shiva statue, which belonged to Kankeswari Temple in Kathmandu and was stolen in 1995, to Nepal.

The Consulate General of Nepal in New York and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, on Thursday, announced the return of the stone sculpture, Shiva in Himalayan Abode with Ascetics, to Nepal, according to a statement issued by the Consulate general of Nepal in USA.

An agreement was signed by Bishnu Prasad Gautam, acting consul general, and Daniel H Weiss, President and CEO of the museum, it said.

The sculpture depicts Lord Shiva, a revered Hindu deity, with his two ascetic disciples in a mountain abode at Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. The 13-inch-tall stone sculpture was sent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1995 and remained in its collection until recently.

A research conducted by the museum based on renowned Nepali scholar Lain Singh Bangdel's book, Inventory of Stone Sculptures of Kathmandu Valley, determined that the object belonged to the Kankeswari Temple in Kathmandu, and that it should be returned to Nepal, the statement said.

The museum contacted the Government of Nepal earlier this year to offer the return of the sculpture, and was arranging for the object to be transported to Nepal.

Speaking on the occasion, the acting consul general said, "We are grateful to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, its president and CEO, the board of trustees and the museum's officials for their initiative and cooperation in returning this lost artifact back to Nepal.'' The Metropolitan Museum of Art's president and CEO remarked that the museum is committed to the responsible acquisition of archaeological art, and applies rigorous provenance standards both to new acquisitions and the study of works long in its collection in an ongoing effort to learn as much as possible about ownership history.

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