Shyamlal Yadav
While 77 artefacts at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) have been found linked to an antiquities smuggler now in jail in Tamil Nadu, the same museum houses more than 90 artefacts that tell the untold story of Jammu and Kashmir.
Also Read: Indian Treasures in the American Museum; Related to smuggler in Tamil Nadu Jail
On the one hand, the Met Museum’s robust Asia collection of at least 94 artefacts, including 81 sculptures, five paintings, five pages of a manuscript, two Kashmir carpet antiquities and a page of manuscript of Jammu and Kashmir origin, lacks details in their provenance, or background documents, which An investigation by The Indian Express in association with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and UK-based Finance Uncovered revealed that details such as when and by whom were provided.
On the other hand, several FIRs have been registered on missing artefacts in Jammu and Kashmir, some of which have been closed as “not found”, RTI records, court records and police records examined by The Indian Express reveal. Indian Express also visited key sites in Srinagar and interviewed several experts.
The Met Museum currently houses many artefacts reflecting the cultures of Saivism, Vaishnavism and Buddhism that once flourished in Jammu and Kashmir. Among the artefacts from Jammu and Kashmir at the Met Museum, 24 artefacts are linked to the late Samuel Eilenberg, an American mathematician who was an associate of a US-based antiquities dealer, according to investigating agencies.
Three artefacts — two sculptures and a painting — are linked to smuggler Subhash Kapoor, who is serving a 10-year jail term in Tamil Nadu for idol smuggling and theft.
The Met Museum’s catalog of sculptures from Jammu and Kashmir states that an eighth-century Kamdev statue from the Harwan Buddhist monastery on the outskirts of Srinagar and one of its five tiles (third or fourth century) were acquired by Subhash Kapoor’s New York gallery, Art of the Past (AOP), in 1993 and 1992, respectively. shows.
The list includes 15 sculptures of Vishnu, Chakrapurush, Sarada, Gajalakshmi and Kartikeya, Shiva lingams and some other gods and goddesses such as Buddha, a standing Sun God and other sculptures, many of which date back to the sixth-eighth centuries. It also includes an attention-grabbing artifact entitled “Gold Inset with Garnet” titled “Kinneris (half-bird, half-woman)” from the 9th-10th century.
According to Archeology Department of India (ASI) RTI records, 11 flower shells were reported missing from Harwan in 1998 and a Gandharva idol sculpture was reported missing from the Fatehgarh temple in Baramulla in 2008.
Only 1,795 antiquities from Jammu and Kashmir have been registered under the Archaeological and Artifacts Treasure Act, 1972, RTI records show.
Former Additional Director General of Archeology of India BR Mani estimates that 65 terracotta human heads excavated from Ambaran in Agnur district, 28 km from Jammu, are housed in various museums in India and abroad. He said he was not aware of any artifacts in the Met Museum. B.R. Mani led an excavation at the site as supervising archaeologist in 1999-2000. Records show that Hungarian archaeologist Charles Fabry first excavated the site in the mid-1930s.
According to the Directorate of Antiquities, Archives and Museums of Jammu and Kashmir, the list of missing statues and sculptures includes: “Buddha in Seated Position” (wooden), “Dara in Standing Position” (bronze), “Jain Tirthankar” (brass) and “Buddha”. Directorate records show that the antiquities were stolen on August 10, 1973, and in April 1975, the case was marked “not found” and closed.
There are many more, including a miniature painting of Shah-i-Hamdan, which was allegedly stolen on September 27, 1969.
Besides, a copy of the Quran bearing the seal of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb was reported missing since September 11, 2003. Records show that an FIR was registered and the case was transferred to the Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Also, a separate case was registered by the CBI in this regard. All these cases were later closed as “not found”.
Records also show missing artefacts from Ladakh: “22 golden copper frames and two stupas made of crystal and ivory” were allegedly stolen in 1998 from Zanskar Gonpa (Kargil district), then part of Jammu and Kashmir. This case was also closed as “not found”.
RL Bhatt, author of the book “Hindu Sanctuaries of Kashmir” (2014), says, “In many cases of looting of antiquities, FIRs were not possible because people had to flee their homes during the militancy to save their lives. Most of the relics have been stolen from our temples. “Our institutions must now operate using our own laws and international laws,” he said.
On October 16, 2018, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, hearing a public interest litigation filed by Imdad Sakhi of the Valley Citizens’ Council, directed the then state government to “ensure that adequate attention is paid to the protection and maintenance of archaeological sites and antiquities in future”.
“The state authorities have abdicated their responsibility to protect our rich heritage from being looted. All complaints of missing artifacts, which have been closed as untraceable, need to be re-investigated and agencies have to look beyond the country’s borders to find them,” said Imdad Sagi.
After the International Guidelines for Museums were developed, “Methods for Prohibiting and Preventing the Illegal Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property”, states: “When purchasing an object or acquiring it through donation or otherwise, museums should exercise due diligence in verifying the history and provenance of the object.
In an e-mailed statement to The Indian Express, the Met Museum said, “Extreme efforts are made to ensure that all items entering the artefacts collection comply with the laws and strict policies in place at the time of acquisition.”
Before his death in 1998, Polish-born Samuel Eilenberg was known as a prominent collector of Asian art. Court records examined by ICIJ show that he was an associate of antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford, who was on trial in the US for antiquities smuggling before his death in 2020.
A summary of the Indian Express and ICIJ’s investigation into the lost antiquities:
Shyamlal Yadav of Indian Express looked at the catalog of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts (Med) in New York and found that at least 77 ancient artefacts and 59 paintings were somehow linked to the notorious art smuggler Subhash Kapoor.
Check out the full list of antiquities in the possession of the Met linked to Kapoor, who is currently in jail in Tamil Nadu on charges of theft and idol theft.https://tamil.indianexpress.com/india/india-treasure-trove-sitting-in-us-museum-is-linked- to-smuggler-in-tamil-nadu-jail-611114/
Well, artefacts have been stolen from India and taken abroad. Why can’t we bring them back? The biggest challenge India is currently facing is the gap between what is “officially” declared missing and what is emerging in global markets and in museums.
What are antiquities and what laws protect them?https://tamil.indianexpress.com/explained/antiquities-in-abroad-what-indian-international-laws-says-611748/
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