In a major development, the United States has returned over 1,400 looted artifacts worth $10 million to India as part of an ongoing initiative to repatriate stolen cultural items from South and Southeast Asia. Among the returned artifacts is a celestial dancer sandstone sculpture, which had been illegally smuggled from central India to London before being sold to a patron of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Summary/Static | Details |
Why in the news? | US returns over 1,400 looted antiques worth $10 million to India |
Returned Artifacts | Over 1,400 looted artifacts worth $10 million. Notable item: Celestial dancer sandstone sculpture. Artifacts previously displayed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art |
US-India Cultural Property Agreement | Signed in July to prevent illicit trafficking of antiquities. Formalizes US’s commitment to repatriating stolen cultural property to India. |
Recent Returns and Significance | In September, 297 stolen antiquities (2000 BCE – 1900 CE) returned to India. Since 2016, the US has returned 578 cultural artifacts to India. |
Formal Ceremony | Artifacts were officially handed over at a ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York. Repatriation reflects global cooperation to curb art trafficking. |
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