#looted-antiquities

#looted-antiquities

Dating back multiple centuries, the sculptures had been stolen from Tamil temples and smuggled out of India in the mid-20th century, leaving murky provenance records before the Smithsonian's acquisition. The museum said that one of the three bronzes, "Shiva Nataraja" (Chola dynasty, c. 990 CE), will remain at the NMAA for an ongoing exhibition on a long-term loan agreement, sparking questions about the Indian government's capacity to make decisions on what is technically the religious property of the temple of origin.