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05/01/2025

Pharping's Stolen Artefacts in New Delhi, India's Purana Qila Museum.

Nepali Artefacts located in museums abroad

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Jan. 4: Several Nepali artefacts have been located in various museums and auction houses in foreign countries.

According to the Lost Arts of Nepal page, which tracks the whereabouts of Nepal's stolen artefacts, a 9th-century stone statue of the standing god Surya, stolen from the Gopaleshwar Temple near Pharping, has been located at the renowned Purana Qila Museum in New Delhi.

The statue, a distinctive example of 9th-century stone art, depicts Lord Surya flanked by two attendants. It is considered a rare and significant piece. The original location of the statue was Pharping, and its authenticity is detailed in art historian Lain Singh Bangdel's 1989 book Stolen Images of Nepal.

In the book, Bangdel describes the Sun God as holding a pen in one hand and a manuscript in the other, while his third-hand holds a conch (Pingala). This unique figure combines symbols of both Lord Vishnu and the Sun, making it particularly rare.

After the statue was stolen from Gopaleshwar Temple, a replica was placed at the location for worship.

Additionally, a 12th/13th-century Shalabhanjika Yakshi strut, stolen in the 1980s from the Narayana Temple in Hyumata, Kathmandu, was found at a Sotheby's Auction in New York, USA.

Two other struts from the same temple were previously located in the Pritzker Collection in Chicago, USA and have already been repatriated, while one remains in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Moreover, a 14th-century wooden Yakshi strut, stolen in the 1970s-80s from the Ikha Narayan Temple in Bangemuda, Kathmandu, has also been found at a Sotheby's Auction in New York.

Finally, a 13th-century stone statue of Goddess Tara, stolen from a Hiti in Suryamadhi Tole, Bhaktapur, was sold at a Sotheby's Auction in New York.

Source: The Rising Nepal
Link: https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/54833