A Gift to the Indian Prime Minister – a theft from Gujarat in 2001 solved

Truly success has many fathers !! The return of the Sripuranthan Nataraja and the Vriddhachalam Ardhanari has various agencies and people claiming to have contributed to its return. We hope the same enthusiasm is shown by these agencies / scholars/ experts in going after the hundreds if not thousands of looted Indian artifacts – auctioned, sold and exhibited in various museums, galleries and private connoisseurs across the globe and then they can lay their claim of having succeeded. Till then the art world at least knows who are the true monuments men – Jason Felch and woman – Michaela Boland and how we teamed up to form the International collaboration that resulted in their return.

India has to change its attitude towards such cases – these high profile returns are too far and few inbetween, compared to the extent of the loot. Thousands of artifacts are smuggled each year impoverishing our ancient land, eroding its very cultural roots and the scant effort shown by it to go after the thieves and let alone prosecuting them effectively and getting back the entire stolen loot. The classic case of the Sivapuram bronzes are still open since the 1950’s with no action from India – with major smugglers going Scot free by botched prosecution.

The return of these two has to be celebrated – but for altogether different reasons ! The message has to be loud and clear – gone are the days when India was lax in its pursuit of criminals and idol thieves. It will no longer stand mute witness to the rape of its cultural treasures. Art thieves and shady dealers must have sleepless nights knowing that the New India is coming after them. But to do all that things have to change.

The nodal agencies have no resolve nor resources. To prove our point, we present below our birthday gift to Hon Prime Minister of India – to help him bring back a stolen artifact not from any place in India but from his own home town… read on and remember that this is not a website of any agency but that of another kindred soul – an unsung hero Sri Kirit Mankodi. – his website.

Hindu god Brahma with his consort Brahmani stolen from the open air museum at the Ranki Vav or the Queen’s stepped well (underground reservoir) at Patan, Gujarat, in 2001.

It will be seen in the attached photograph received from the Vadodara Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India that Brahma carries his usual attributes such as a sacrificial ladle and a manuscript. The panel measures about one metre in height, width 57-58 cm. and depth 45 cm (3′ x 2′ x 1.5′), and is datable to the twelfth century.

The Queen’s stepped well is a monument of national importance as declared by the Archaeological Survey of India. ( post script – is an UNESCO World heritage site making it to the list this year!!)

First Information Report (FIR) of the theft was lodged at the Patan City police station immediately after the theft, No. 230/2001 dated 10 November 2001. The sculpture has still not been recovered. Since the theft occurred ten years ago it may have already appeared in the art market.

Now, for the Gift. The same sculpture was openly exhibited in London art week – Fall season in 2006.

It further looks like it was unsold and was exhibited again in London in 2011 second photo.

The India – London route for illicit antiquities is well known and thanks to Peter Watson’s expose you would only expect the central agencies to be vigilant and track sales for such stolen loot – especially from a centrally protected ASI Site. Sadly nothing was done !

So would the Hon Prime Minister be kind enough to activate the agencies to get his gift from London for him !

Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 19- The ACM Singapore Uma

Australia returned two Iconic artifacts to India over the weekend and it is really satisfying for us – we strongly believe that the Gods have chosen to return back to their abodes and this is only the start – many more WILL come back.

What were returned were already forfeit to India as of April 2014 ! There are dozens of stolen art with false provenance still left in Australia waiting for proof from our side

The Vridhachalam Ardhanari and the Sripuranthan Nataraja are only tip of the Ice berg and its time Museums realise this – in today’s connected world and global collaborative research, they cannot hide behind technicalities.

Lots of friends ask us how they can help us in our efforts to bring back our ancestral treasures.

Here is one such example. Soon after we published the details of the Vriddhachalam story , the press and media caught on – interview for Radio Australia – ABC , The Australian , The Hindu , Hindu 2 – published our story.

A special friend on Social Media, a American national deeply interested in Indian Art contacted us and volunteered to provide assistance. A courier pouch landed in end june 2013 containing paper cuttings of – Art of the Past advertisements in various Magazines and Journals collected over the last 10-12 years !! One particular advertisement stood out.

How could i forget her – i had been there when she was first exhibited as pride of show – in 2006. Infact i had a painting of her framed in my room !!

I checked the Idol wing website immediately. The 3rd one was possible match but the proportions were all wrong.

A little bit of checking made us realise that some rookie programmer had reduced the size of the bronze to fit the pdf file without ensuring it shrank in proportion. The correct view was this one.

The rest was academic

Further research and another helpful friend sent us the Art of the Past catalogue 2006 with the actual advertisement.



The Bronze was acquired in 2007 as per the Museum Label.

We got in touch with the Museum and authorities in India mid of July and as usual met with a stone wall.

Finally things got to head when Kapoor’s Gallery assistant pleaded guilty in US court in early December 2013.


“During the period from on or about January 2005 to November 2006, one Uma Parameshvari (known at the “$650,000 Uma for Singapore”), owned by the Central Government of India, was stolen from the Sivan Temple in India’s Ariyalur District. During the period January 2006 to on or about January 2007, defendant and other co-conspirators shipped the $650,000 Uma for Singapore, from India to the United States. On or about February 2007, defendant and other co-conspirators arranged for the sale and transport of the $650,000 Uma to the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore.”

The Uma has since been removed from display and in May we reported that the entire list of objects that the ACM purchased from the dealer.

The defense of Museums worldover when faced with this scenario seems to be following the same rule books – Ignore, stone wall, delay etc etc. To add insult to injury see this stance taken by an Art Consultant

” Art consultant ————– suggests that there may also be alternatives to repatriation, even if an artefact is found to have been illegally removed.

She says: “Sometimes, the lawful owners of the artefacts do not have the resources to build climate-controlled environments, to conserve and restore old artefacts, to present exhibitions that attract large visitorships, or to fund scholarship on these artifacts.

“In this context, I would say that it should be an option for the museum to discuss having the artefacts stay on in a loan arrangement and perhaps to present these works jointly in public exhibitions or publications.”
– See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/case-you-missed-it/story/sniffing-out-booty-20140214#2″

I am sure India has enough and more resources to take good care of its Gods and in the first place our Gods do not need climate controlled environments – our ancestors built temples as their abodes and they have lived there happily for thousand years until the greed of the greenback led a few astray souls to housebreak and rob them.

Its time Singapore follows the Australia model and returns the Uma. It is also pertinent that the ACM should be open and disclose the provenance of this Somaskanda as well – as of now they maintain that it is not bought from Kapoor / Art of the Past – its was bought in 2000 and in not disclosing the provenance it is hiding the identify of one more dealer / smuggler.

Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 18- London – Fall season 2011

The CAG report in 2013 slammed the ASI for its slackness. Today we see a classic case in pointer.

“From 3rd – 12th November, London’s leading Asian art dealers, auction houses and academic and cultural institutions will unite to present an exciting programme of gallery receptions, auctions, lectures, symposia and museum exhibitions. Sample of the magnificent selection of Asian antiques from: India; Islam; China; Japan; the Himalayas and Korea, spanning some 5000 years of culture – including ceramics, furniture, glass, jade, jewellery, manuscripts, metalwork, paintings, screens, stone carvings and textiles. Below please find a selection of offerings from some of London’s leading galleries, including Asianart.com galleries and other members of Asian Art in London. ” ….so reads the still live website of the event.

What is interesting is very first “exhibitor” – Art of the Past, 1242 Madison Avenue,New York, NY 10128, USA

That the Gallery owner was arrested in Frankfurt airport in October 2011 is to read with the date of this auction !!

The second artifact for “sale”is the subject of our today’s expose !!

We go back to Sri Kirit Mankodi’s site – to the post titled Kari Talai 3rd alert


” The temple of Vishnu’s Boar incarnation at Kari Talai is a large complex of the eleventh century, under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Nine sculptures were stolen from this remote site during the night of 16/17 August 2006. They are a Vishnu Torso, a Divine Couple, Ganesha, Amorous Princely Couples and Apsaras………………The sculptures were stolen from a centrally protected site. ASI has records of all these sculptures……….”

The scale of this loot is truly mind blowing and unless concrete action is initiated by the Indian Government it would be left to such scant spotting to identify the loot – let alone bring them back ! However, we are happy that there are a few kindred souls like Sri Mankodi who continue to champion the yet not lost cause.

Unraveling the auctioned Kanchipuram Kailasantha Gauri’s past – Part 2

Part 1 of this post exposed how the provenance for this fantastic bronze was erased and she was auctioned for a million dollars.


We had seen the reference in the 1944 article Gauri, A Southern Bronze, By K. B. IYER – where he specifically mentions “One of such pieces is Gauri from the Kailasanath temple, Conjeeveram, now in the collection of Ramgopal, the well-known dancer.”

Today we bring forth more research into her origins – for a 1915 publication – Sri O.C. Ganguly’s South Indian Bronzes.

Here is the great man himself and a short bio

Here are the references to the bronze from the book.



From the above it is clear that the Bronze was very much in the Kailasantha temple atleast till 1915 and inbetween 1915 n 1944 it somehow moved into the possession of famous dancer Sri Ram Gopal OBE and was with him at least till 1944.

This post may not provide any conclusive evidence to seek restitution of the bronze but atleast it gives her a past and a home town – The Gauri of the Kanchi Kailasantha Temple and not just ” A large and important bronze figure of Parvati”

Sivapuram Saga – the untold story – Part 3

Today the hand of a master forger provides us a vital clue – and we hope the Norton Simon Museum will try help to disclose or close this case.

As we have seen in the earlier parts – part 1 and part 2 of this series, how two of the looted Sivapuram bronzes landed in the Norton Simon Museum – one was returned after much debate and fanfare while the other still remains in the Museum. That still leaves 4 more to be traced, for the original Indian police case file lists “Thirugnanasambandar, Pillaiar and two Amman” as missing.

The case files further reveal that “The trustees of the temple wanted to repair the idols and this work was entrusted to Ramasamy Sthapathy of Kumbakonam in the year June 1954. In the year 1956 Thilakar of Kuttalam and his brother Doss induced Ramasamy Sthapathy to part with the original Natarajar and 5 other idols and to substitute the same with fake idols. “

Sadly the 1963 book by P. R. Srinivasan doesn’t carry any of the photographs of the two Amman bronzes.

However, thanks to our research we now have the French Institute in Pondicherry archive when they visited the temple on 15th June 1956 and followed up with a visit on 16th Nov 1957. The fake Somaskanda which we featured part 2 of the expose, gave us a vital clue – the master forger had definitely tried his best to mirror the original.

So we did a quick study of the other bronzes from the Sivapuram study by the IFP and landed on this Tani amman. To remind our readers – by the time the IFP landed in Sivapuram the switch was already made and they photographed only the fakes !

A comparison of the online archive of the Norton Simon Museum led us to this exhibit

Parvati, c. 1000
India: Tamil Nadu, 975-1025
Bronze
32-1/2 in. (82.6 cm)
The Norton Simon Foundation
F.1972.10.S
© 2012 The Norton Simon Foundation

It is important to see the year of purchase – 1972, is the same year the Nataraja and the Somaskanda came to the Museum.

A side by side comparison reveals the handiwork of the faker – the overall resemblance is there for anyone to see.

The thief maybe in his overconfidence did not go into the minutest of details – if you know how a bronze is cast, you will understand why – its almost impossible to make a perfect copy – especially in the ornamentation and more so to get the actual weathering patterns.


We agree that this is not conclusive proof but given that the Nataraja and the Somaskanda have set a irrefutable pattern – it is now upto the Museum to come clear on this.

Sivapuram Somaskanda – the untold story – Part 2

70 years is a long time ago ! But if you consider the gravity of the offense – a theft that shook the art world and the longevity of the very artifact – a creation that has stood for a 1000 years, then nothing is late to be time bared. Part 1 of this expose detailed how the Sivapuram Somaskanda was looted and is currently in the Norton Simon Museum. Today we provide a startling expose – the very expert who was responsible for making the world aware of the crime – he who visited the Sivapuram temple and said in no uncertain terms that what was being worshipped was a fake – and whose revelations led to the protracted battle and the eventual return of the Sivapuram Nataraja, was aware of much more. Infact he knew about the Sivapuram Somaskanda !!

It is important to reemphasize that the reference in Douglas Barrett’s book of 1965 Early Cola Bronzes is what is considered to be the trigger point of this entire theft coming to light.

We present today an Article in Marg Vol 48. No.4 June 1997 – EARLY CHOLA BRONZES IN THE NORTON SIMON MUSEUM – Douglas Barrett.

It is interesting to read the General Editor’s Note: “ The late Douglas Barrett wrote this article for the late Norton Simon soon after his visit to the museum in Pasadena, California, in 1978. However, the article was never published. Marg is pleased to publish it now through the generosity of the Norton Simon Museum and Mrs. Mary Barrett. Mr. Barrett was an authority on Cola Bronzes and we feel that his comments on the selected masterpieces will be much appreciated by Indian Art historians. One of the Bronzes ( figure 9) is no longer in the collection and now belongs to a European Collector. Some faithful readers of Marg may recognize a few of the others as they were published in the fifties in the magazines. “

The detailed article is attached at the end of this post – however, what is pertinent to read is this paragraph in the article page 85 Marg exhibit “ Hence, the importance of the remarkable Somaskanda in the Museum ( figures 3 and 4). The Somaskanda, together with a standing Ganesa and the famous Nataraja , formed part of a hoard discovered at Sivapuram ( Tanjavur district). It was published in its uncleaned state by P. R. Srinivasan and with the Ganesa and Nataraja, dated to the middle of tenth century AD.”

We now have more on this case – the French Institute in Pondicherry visited the temple on 15th June 1956 and followed up with a visit on 16th Nov 1957. Sadly, what they did not realise was the fact that they had photographed the fakes. Till date these images have never been published and today we are doing so for the first time.

This is what Douglas Barret saw when he went to Sivapuram in 1965.


These were the bronzes faked by the stapathy in june 1954, which the expert in Douglas Barret immediately recognised since he had the book by Sri. P.R. Srinivasan with the original photographs of the Nataraja and Somaskanda


It looks like the Stapathy went to great extents to copy of the Nataraja ( the clues are the lack of weathering on the flames of the prabha, the missing petals of the lotus base on the last pedestal amongst a few), but for the Somaskanda he has thrown caution to the wind – is a very poor replica. Maybe he gambled that not many would have concentrated on the rest of the bronzes !!

One look at the bronzes side by side shows the fake


But he did try and mimic the overall styling and facial features. Which leads us to a more damning expose ….to come up shortly….

But some uncomfortable questions first – the out of court settlement between the Norton Simon Museum and the Indian Government was signed in 1976. The Nataraja stayed in the US for a period of 10 years before being returned to India. The case was closed in India stating “All accused arrested and convicted. There is no information about the remaining idols “. This monograph was surely with the Museum in 1978 during the tenure of the agreement !!

Links to the entire Marg article









Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 17- Chandikeshwara reveals larger loot

We are revealing today an important clue that expands the scope of this investigation and provides possible leads to a larger loot. It was widely reported in the press on the seizure of the Chandikeshwara bronze ” The image of Chandikeshwara (a form of Siva) in a standing posture has a strong similarity to the picture of the idol of the Sundareswara temple in Ariyalur, available with the French Institute of Pondicherry”

The photos of the seized bronzes were also publised



However, we have now done a detailed study of the archive photo from the institute and can now confidently say that they are defintely not the same. Below is the analysis.

The Ornamentation, styles are analysed in depth below



So the larger question now is two fold.

Where is the Suthamalli Chandikeshwara ?

and more importantly how do we find this new looted temple from where this new Chandikeswara seized by ICE hails from ?

Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 16- the raid on a warehouse..

India’s watershed elections are done and there has been a sweep for what is considered to be the right wing Hindutva “faction”. While the Economy might be the first item on the new government’s list of things to do, on the art front and safeguarding of India’s National cultural treasures and their recovery needs to find an immediate spot. This again doesnt need to be a Hindu Agenda for the loot sans religious borders – from the Buddha in Nagapattinam, to the Jina of Rajasthan are equally as important as the Chola Nataraja.. While galleries are burdened with the fall out of the loot , the scant documentation adds to the inertia of the men who are ordained to be custodians of our Art.

Recently CBS News aired this clip with footage of the live raid of Kapoor’s storage facility in queens.

“A CBS News crew was with HIS agents in March when they followed an informant’s tip and searched a storage facility in the New York City borough of Queens. They found hundreds of items worth an estimated $8 million.

The items were allegedly stolen by Indian dealer Subhash Kapoor, a man international authorities say has been smuggling artifacts for decades. He is currently on trial after pleading not guilty to looting and smuggling charges.”

The screengrabs and the article url threw up an interesting sculpture.



It is a visual match of this theft from Sri Kirit Mankodi’s site


” The temple of Vishnu’s Boar incarnation at Kari Talai is a large complex of the eleventh century, under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Nine sculptures were stolen from this remote site during the night of 16/17 August 2006. They are a Vishnu Torso, a Divine Couple, Ganesha, Amorous Princely Couples and Apsaras………………The sculptures were stolen from a centrally protected site. ASI has records of all these sculptures……….”

The scale of this loot is truly mind blowing and unless concrete action is initiated by the Indian Government it would be left to such scant spotting to identify the loot – let alone bring them back ! However, we are happy that there are a few kindred souls like Sri Mankodi who continue to champion the yet not lost cause.

Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 15- clue from a 1916 book reveals..

With the HR&CE and temple authorities continuing to be lax in their documentation, this expose shows again the importance of photo documenting our temple treasures.

Little did I realise that this innocuous looking book held within itself a vital clue.

South-indian images of gods and goddesses (1916)

available for free download here

page 109 in the book ( 129 in the pdf) has this photograph of a Somaskanda

The label simply states Somaskanda ( metal), sivankudal

This is a very unique somaskanda wherein the Siva and Uma have been cast seperately with indivudual pedestals. For those who know about bronze casting, the difficulty of such an attempt is evident – having to match the pedestals not only for height but also for the runner designs.

Thankfully this provides us some vital clues in identifying this bronze, which is currently in the Asian Civilisations Museum being purchased in the year 2000.

Let us compare the two









It is without doubt the same bronze. Further our enquiries have revealed that the temple has no other bronze currently – ie has lost all its treasures. The Book sadly has no other bronzes listed from this temple and from our checking no other book has any references to this temple. It is sadly an ASI protected site with no documentation.

Now, its up to the authorities to investigate this and establish the chain. But if this is confirmed it pushes the string of robberies to pre 2000 and many more temple bronzes and sculptures sold by the dealer into the ambit of “shady” dealings.

The Marble Jain sculpture and a lesson in optical due deligence by Museums

We have had some welcoming developments with regard to the Kapoor loot with respect to the main items in Australian Galleries – namely the Vriddhachalam Ardhanari which we discovered – check statement and the NGA Nataraja check statement- . Thanks to the ABC coverage we now have some very important and interesting documents related to the objects purchased from the same dealer held by the galleries.

We turn our attention to this Seated Jina Mount Abu region, Rajasthan, India

Seated Jina 1163 Sculpture, marble
55.8 h x 45.2 w x 23.1 d cm
Purchased 2003
Accession No: NGA 2003.478

It is clear that the main Jina sculpture is not a perfect match for the Arch.

We now know thanks to the ” Due diligence report” which have now accessed, that it was indeed bought as two different pieces for USD 125,000 in December 2003.



The provenance provided:
” bought in Delhi by Sudanese diplomat Abdulla Mehgoub, between 1968 and 1971
with subhash Kapoor of Art of the Past, New York, from 2002 or before”

This was supported by

” Signed letter of provenance from Raj Mehgoub stating that the jina sculpture and arch were purchased in India between 1968 and 1971 by her husband Abdulla Mehgoub, dated 25th Match 2003.
– Expert opinion on the sculpture’s quality and authenticity written by Dr Vidya Dehejia
– Copy of a published article about the sculpture in Arts of Asia, vol 33, no. 6. 2003″

The Provenance is indeed very thin and flies out of the window – based on current information as explained in Chasing Aphrodite

Further the said ” Article” seems to be an Art of Past Advertisement .

Further the same report continues :

“New provenance information found

A comparable jina was found in the sales catalogue for Christie’s sale number 9481 (18 October 2002), South Kensington, London. Close examination suggests that the NGA Jina is the same object sold at the Christie’s sale. The Christie’s catalogue description corresponds to the NGA Jina in terms of size and Materials and its image matches the NGA sculpture exactly.
…..

The details surrounding this, such as the consignor and purchaser, are ye to be confirmed. This information suggests the the provenance letter supplies by Art of the Past was fraudulent, but supports the possibility that the sculpture was legitimately acquired.(sic) It is also possible that the sculpture was purchased at the Christie’s sale by Raj Mehgoub, but this seems unlikely given other information about kapoor.”

Now it gets interesting. This is the Jina sold via Christie and is available through a simple ” google ” check. So you do not need to necessarily subscribe or buy any catalog to view this.

What is more interesting is that the JIna was listed at a base price of $ 1543 – $2315 and sold well above it but even then at a modest $ 6,889.

This was on 12th October 2002 and in our checks there is no comparable Jain marble sold or auctioned during that time. So we are puzzled how even with the addition of the Arch the price of the Jina appreciated from $6889 to $125000 and why the ” Due Diligence report” does not reveal this important little detail? Further being an accountant since the two are distinct pieces and are recorded as separate acquisitions wouldn’t the accounting show the individual amounts instead of lumped under one? If the price NGA paid was fair then was the Christies listing low due to lack of proper provenance? So did Kapoor’s fabricated fake provenance add the $$$$$$$$ ?

Further, from the tone of the report it is clear that despite mounting evidence the NGA plans to hold on to the artifact and hence we are requesting support from volunteers in Rajasthan to help share and forward this photograph and push local vernacular press to publish this photo and seek any information of the possible loot.

The arch is also important as a simple check on main Jain sites in the Jaisalmer and Satrunjaya temples reveal very very similar styled marble arches and many have been recently repaired / replaced. Why were they repaired, do we have any records of loot / robbery etc.



Unless we can find proof we have to continue to appeal to the Australian Government in good faith and mounting circumstantial evidence otherwise.