Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Asian Civilisations Museum to return controversial Indian bronze sculpture

SINGAPORE — The Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) announced today (Oct 19) that it will be returning a controversial bronze sculpture to Indian authorities following the criminal court case surrounding its seller, New York dealer Art Of The Past.

The Asian Civilisations Museum will return an 11th century bronze sculpture to Indian authorities following the controversary surrounding its seller, New York dealer Art Of The Past, which has been accused of dealing in stolen property.

The Asian Civilisations Museum will return an 11th century bronze sculpture to Indian authorities following the controversary surrounding its seller, New York dealer Art Of The Past, which has been accused of dealing in stolen property.

SINGAPORE — The Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) announced today (Oct 19) that it will be returning a controversial bronze sculpture to Indian authorities following the criminal court case surrounding its seller, New York dealer Art Of The Past.

It also announced it will commence legal proceedings to demand compensation from the dealer, whose owner, Subhash Kapoor, was charged in 2012 with dealing in stolen property.

The sculpture in question, a bronze rendition of the Hindu goddess Uma Parameshvari from the 11th century, was purchased by ACM for US$650,000 (S$898,000) in 2007. In 2012, a story in international media was published highlighting the possibility that the sculpture could be the subject of a court case in New York concerning the illegal trafficking of artefacts from India.

Early this year, the National Heritage Board (NHB), which manages ACM, invited authorities from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which oversees the country’s antiquities, to discuss the issue. The NHB then received a request from ASI to return the sculpture last June.

“ACM has carefully considered this request and reviewed the information provided by the ASI,” said the ACM in a statement. “While there is no conclusive proof that the sculpture was stolen from a Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu, India, ACM took note of the confession of Aaron Freedman, who was the manager of Art Of The Past, of dealing in looted Indian antiquities and of criminal possession of 150 stolen objects.”

The statement also stated that the sculpture was specifically identified by Freedman as one of the 150 stolen objects, but that it had been “acquired in good faith and after strict due diligence”.

It added: “However ... ACM has decided to return the sculpture to India. ACM will commence legal proceedings to demand compensation from Art Of The Past, its owner/director Subhash Kapoor and/or its manager Aaron Freedman.”

The museum had previously announced that it had purchased a total of 30 objects — worth a total of US$1,328,250 (S$1.84 million) — from the dealer between 1997 and 2010, two years before the controversy surfaced. According to the museum’s statement, none of the 30 items it had purchased were found in any national or international register of stolen objects at that time.

The statement noted: “Aside from the sculpture, none of the other 29 objects were cited in Freedman’s confession, nor has any information been forthcoming in other international registers of stolen artefacts or in courts of law.”

The statement also highlighted ACM’s collaboration with ASI to present in Singapore an Indian Buddhist art exhibition from the Indian Museum of Kolkata and announced it will continue to work closely with ASI in future projects.

“NHB values its strong ties with Indian cultural institutions. Its museums, such as the ACM and the newly opened Indian Heritage Centre, have presented various shows in India and Singapore as well as displayed objects donated or loaned from India,” the statement said.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.