New York, Apr 30: The United States has returned 657 antiquities collectively valued at nearly USD 14 million to India, stating that “more work remains” in the ongoing effort to repatriate stolen cultural artefacts.
The return was officially announced on Tuesday by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, marking a significant development in the fight against global antiquities trafficking.
Officials said the artefacts were recovered through multiple investigations targeting international trafficking networks, including cases linked to disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor and convicted trafficker Nancy Wiener.
The handover ceremony was attended by Consul Rajlakshmi Kadam from the Consulate General of India in New York.
Speaking on the occasion, Bragg said the scale of trafficking networks targeting India’s cultural heritage is extensive, noting the recovery of more than 600 pieces in this latest batch alone. He added that further efforts are required to trace and return stolen artefacts, while praising investigative teams for their sustained work.
Consul General of India in New York Binaya Pradhan appreciated the cooperation of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the US Department of Homeland Security, and other law enforcement agencies, saying their “continued vigilance” made the recovery and return of culturally significant artefacts possible.
Among the returned items is a bronze figure of ‘Avalokiteshvara’, valued at around USD 2 million, seated on a double-lotus base over a lion-flanked throne. The inscription on the artefact identifies the craftsman as Dronaditya of Sipur, near present-day Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
The Avalokiteshvara statue was part of a hoard of bronzes discovered near the Lakshmana Temple in 1939 and later housed in the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum in Raipur by 1952. It was stolen from the museum, smuggled to the United States by 1982, and later surfaced in a private New York collection before being seized in 2025.
Another key artefact includes a sandstone figure of a dancing ‘Ganesha’, allegedly looted from a temple in Madhya Pradesh in 2000 by a co-conspirator of Kapoor. It was later sold through multiple channels, including a New York gallery and a 2012 Christie’s auction, before being recovered by authorities this year.
A red sandstone Buddha statue, valued at USD 7.5 million, is also among the returned items. It was reportedly smuggled into New York by Kapoor and seized from one of his storage units by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit.
Authorities noted that over the past decade, the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, along with Homeland Security Investigations, has led extensive probes into Kapoor and associates for illegal looting, export, and sale of artefacts across South and Southeast Asia.
Kapoor was arrested following an indictment in 2019, while extradition proceedings from India are still pending. Several of his associates have already been convicted in the United States.
Officials further said the Antiquities Trafficking Unit has recovered more than 6,200 cultural treasures worth over USD 485 million and returned over 5,900 artefacts to 36 countries so far.
The unit has also secured convictions in multiple cultural property cases, with additional suspects awaiting extradition proceedings. (Agency)
