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.
President Donald Trump signed the order to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization jus
Bigg Boss is a controversial reality show where full-on drama is seen. The audience likes the mas
Police in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra have registered a case against the contractor and st
On the occasion of the completion of 10 years of Mudra Yojana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inter
The Election Commission of India, which is busy preparing for the Bihar assembly elections, is on
On September 5, South cinema veteran Thalapathy Vijay's film GOAT was released in theaters. Since
The real reason behind Nikki Payala's painful death was the conservative thinking and narrow mind
In Bihar, Rahul Gandhi is fiercely attacking the BJP and PM Modi through rallies. Meanwhile, in o
To curb the unlimited powers given to the Waqf Board and for better management and transparency,
Mumbai Police has arrested a person from Noida who had threatened to blow up the city with 400 kg
