Britain's prestigious Oxford University has agreed to return a 500-year-old bronze statue of a saint stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu to India.
A statement issued by the University's Ashmolean Museum said that on March 11, 2024, the Council of Oxford University supported the Indian High Commission's claim to return the 16th-century bronze statue of Saint Tirumankai Alvar from the Ashmolean Museum. The decision will now be sent to the Charity Commission for approval.
The 60 cm high statue of Saint Tirumankai Alvar was acquired by the Ashmolean Museum of the University of Oxford from Sotheby's auction house in 1967 from the collection of a collector named Dr. J.R. Belmont (1886-1981).
The museum says that in November last year, an independent researcher informed it about the origin of this ancient statue, after which it informed the Indian High Commission about it.
The Indian government has made a formal request for the bronze statue, which is believed to have been stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu and ended up in a UK museum through auction.
The museum, which houses some of the world's most famous art and archeological artifacts, says it acquired the statue in 1967 in "good faith".
There have been several instances of Indian artifacts stolen from the UK being restored to India, the most recent being in August last year when a limestone carved statue from Andhra Pradesh and a 17th-century "Navaneet Krishna" bronze statue from Tamil Nadu were handed over to the Indian High Commissioner in the UK following a joint investigation by Scotland Yard's art and antiquities unit.
The atmosphere of the Bigg Boss Season 19 house changes every week after Weekend Ka Vaar. This we
It has not been even a year since Chandrababu Naidu was almost removed from the scene of Indian o
Describing the horror of the disaster, Shivansh, an injured soldier from the army camp in Harshil
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is on a US tour these days. He gav
All the constituent parties of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have assured the BJP that t
Three schools in Delhi have received bomb threats. This threat has been sent to the schools by ma
There is enthusiasm among BJP workers and common people about the birthday of Prime Minister Nare
Bollywood action hero Ajay Devgan is ready to make a blast once again. The second trailer of 'Son
Recently, season 4 of India's best web series Panchayat was released. Which got a positive respon
The countdown to the Union Budget 2026-27 has begun. As always, the central government is likely
