The Museum of Stolen Art: Nepal’s Campaign to Recover Sacred Heritage

In Bhaktapur city, Nepal, an inconspicuous structure named the Museum of Stolen Art is situated on a minor thoroughfare. Its interior contains chambers displaying sculptures of Nepal’s revered gods and goddesses. One such piece is the Saraswati sculpture, depicting the Hindu goddess of wisdom seated on a lotus, holding a book, prayer beads, and a classical veena in her four hands. However, this statue, like every other sculpture within the room, is a reproduction. The Saraswati sculpture is among 45 replicas housed in the museum, which is slated to establish an official location in Panauti, scheduled to open to the public in 2026. This museum is the initiative of Nepalese conservationist Rabindra Puri, who is leading an effort to facilitate the repatriation of numerous stolen Nepalese artifacts. Many of these items are currently located in museums, auction houses, or private collections in nations such as the US, UK, and France. Over the last five years, he has engaged six craftsmen to produce these replica statues, with each piece requiring three months to a year for completion. The museum operates without government funding. Puri’s objective is to secure the return of these original stolen artifacts, offering the replicas he has created in exchange. Sanjay Adhikari, secretary of the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign, states that in Nepal, these types of statues are found in temples throughout the nation and are considered part of the country’s “living culture,” rather than simply exhibits. Many are worshipped daily by local residents, with some devotees presenting food and flowers to the deities. Mr. Puri recounted, “An old lady told me she used to worship Saraswati daily. When she found out the idol was stolen, she felt more depressed than when her husband passed away.” Devotees frequently touch these statues to receive blessings, which often results in them being infrequently guarded, thus making them susceptible to theft. Saubhagya Pradhananga, who leads the official Department of Archaeology, indicates that Nepal has identified over 400 artifacts missing from temples and monasteries nationwide, though this figure is highly probable to be an underestimate. Between the 1960s and the 1980s, hundreds of artifacts were plundered from Nepal as the previously isolated nation began to engage with the international community. It is believed that several of the country’s most influential administrators at that time were implicated in some of these thefts, facilitating their smuggling abroad to art collectors and retaining the profits. For many decades, the Nepali populace remained largely uninformed about their missing art and its whereabouts. However, this situation has evolved, particularly since the establishment of the National Heritage Recovery Campaign in 2021, a movement spearheaded by citizen activists dedicated to recovering lost treasures. Activists have discovered that numerous these idols are presently located in museums, auction houses, or private collections in Western nations, including the US, the UK, and France. They also collaborate with foreign governments to exert pressure on overseas institutions for the repatriation of these items. However, numerous obstacles persist. The Taleju Necklace, originating from the 17th century, serves as a prime illustration. In 1970, this substantial gold-plated necklace, adorned with precious stones, disappeared from the Temple of Taleju, dedicated to the goddess recognized as Nepal’s principal protective deity. Its disappearance was particularly surprising given that the temple is accessible to the public only once annually, on the 9th day of the Dashain Festival. The method of its theft remains undetermined, and many in Nepal were unaware of its location until three years ago, when it was identified in an unexpected venue: the Art Institute of Chicago. Dr. Sweta Gyanu Baniya, a Nepali academic residing in the US, discovered it and reported falling to her knees and weeping upon seeing the necklace. She conveyed to the US university Virginia Tech, “It’s not just a necklace, it’s a part of our goddess who we worship. I felt like it shouldn’t be here. It’s sacred.” Uddhav Karmacharya, the chief priest of the Temple of Taleju, stated, “We were shocked to learn after so many years that it was on display in an American museum.” He has provided documentation verifying its provenance to Nepali authorities, declaring, “The day it is repatriated will be the most important day in my life.” The Art Institute of Chicago indicates that the necklace was a donation from the Alsdorf Foundation, a private US foundation. The museum informed the BBC that it has engaged in communication with the Nepali government and is anticipating further details. Nevertheless, Pradhananga asserted that Nepal’s Department of Archaeology had supplied ample evidence, including archival records. Furthermore, an inscription on the necklace specifies that it was created for the Goddess of Taleju by King Pratap Malla. Kanak Mani Dixit, an activist, describes these as “tactics of delay” that frequently “wear down campaigners.” He stated, “They like to use the word ‘provenance’ whereby they ask for evidence from us. The onus is put on us to prove that it belongs to Nepal, rather than on themselves on how they got hold of them.” Nevertheless, some progress has been achieved overall, with approximately 200 artifacts repatriated to Nepal since 1986, though the majority of these transfers have occurred within the last decade. An idol depicting the deities Laxmi and Narayan, a husband and wife pair, has been returned to Nepal from the Dallas Museum of Art nearly 40 years after its initial disappearance from a temple. Presently, 80 repatriated artifacts are housed in a dedicated gallery within the National Museum of Nepal, awaiting restoration before their return to their original locations. Six idols have been given back to their communities since 2022. The Laxmi Narayan idol has been brought back and reinstalled in the temple from which it was originally taken, where it is now worshipped daily, mirroring its practice in the 10th Century when the idol was first created. However, many worshippers have become considerably more vigilant, enclosing these idols in iron cages to safeguard them from future theft. Mr. Puri, nonetheless, expresses his aspiration that his museum’s shelves will eventually become entirely empty. He states, “I want to tell the museums and whoever is holding the stolen artefacts: Just return our gods! You can have your art.”