Famed US museum to repatriate stolen artefacts

Subject :History

Section: Art and Culture

Concept :

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is returning 15 antiquities to the Government of India after having learned that these were “illegally removed” from India.

Art works returned

The sculptures date back from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE, and include terracotta, copper, and stone works.
Among the antiquities is an enthralling sandstone sculpture of Apsara, the celestial dancer.
The 33.5inch tall sculpture from Madhya Pradesh dates back to the mid11th century CE and is worth $10,00,000 (around ₹ 82crore).
A 1st century BCE ceramic pot from Chandraketugarh (archaeological site near Kolkata), a stone bust of Kamadeva, the God of Love, from the second half of the 8th century CE, and a Svetambara enthroned Jina, with attendant Yaksha and Yakshi, belonging to the 11th century CE, are also part of the antiquities.

Apsara Sculpture

An apsara is a heavenly dancer and celestial maiden who accompanies the gods in Hindu mythology.
Featuring prominently in sculpture, dance, literature and painting from India, Indonesia, China and Cambodia, apsaras are thought to personify the performing arts.
This sensual, sandstone figure came from the walls of a Hindu temple at Khajuraho in North India.
She stands relaxedly in a tribhanga pose, a gentle, curving S-shaped stance constituted by three bends in the body at the neck, waist and knee.
This posture is considered one of the most graceful and sensual of the positions in the Odissi, a major Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha, an eastern coastal state of India.
Her lyrical curves evoke the lilting rhythm of music and dance.
Kama (desire, longing or enjoyable experience) is a central tenet of Hinduism and is considered an integral part of spirit and creation.