Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
THE Metropolitan Museum of Art recently announced that he had initiated the return of two artifacts from Nepala stone sculpture and a delicately carved strut.
The 13th-century wooden temple stand was purchased by the museum in 1988, and the 11th-century stone image of Vishnu flanked by Lakshmi and Garuda, gifted to the Met in 1995.
The second object was donated almost thirty years ago from the personal collection of Steven Kossak, former curator of the Met’s Asian art department. It was featured prominently in a ARTnews report about the museum repatriation problems:
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“Sculptures of deities are considered living gods in Nepal. The relic of Vishnu is a highly symbolic representation of the god surrounded by a halo of pearls and flames with his consort Lakshmi on one side and the eagle Garuda on the other. Standing on a raised platform with lotus decorations, Vishnu is depicted in his four-armed form, with raised hands holding weapons: a discus and a club.
The stone sculpture was still on display in early January, but its entry in the online catalog was since been deleted.
An agreement on the return of the two items was signed by Met Director Max Hollein and Nepal’s Acting Consul General Bishnu Prasad Gautam.
“We appreciate the Museum’s continued dedication and commitment to working for the preservation and promotion of the world’s cultural heritage,” Gautam said. said in a statement. “The consulate looks forward to working closely with the museum to preserve and promote art and culture in the future, as these collaborative efforts truly contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage and further strengthen the long-standing ties between the people of Nepal and the United States. States of America. »
A press release of October 3 said the return was prompted by “new information from colleagues in Nepal” and that the museum was in the process of arranging transportation of the objects.
ARTnews Previously reported that Nepalese officials traveled to New York in October for a private meeting with Met officials, including Asian Arts Department Chairman Maxwell K. Hearn, ostensibly to discuss the Vishnu relic.
Repatriations of objects from the Met’s collection have become more frequent due to increased scrutiny of provenance or ownership history.
In the past year alone, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has seized dozens of allegedly looted items, many of which were linked to Met administrator Shelby White and convicted art dealer Robin Symes , whose value is estimated at tens of millions of dollars. The items were repatriated to countries including Greece, Türkiye, ItalyEgypt, Cambodiaand Nigeria.
The Met also returns articles based on additional provenance research conducted by its own researchers. The institution recently transfer of ownership of two stone sculptures dating from the third millennium BCE to Yemen after determining their place of origin to be the city of Ma’rib.
