Tamil Nadu idol wing steps up efforts to retrieve idols from USA

Subject : History

Section: Art and culture

Concept :

The Idol Wing-CID (IW-CID) of the Tamil Nadu Police, with assistance from U.S. authorities, has made significant progress in recovering 16 valuable antique idols stolen from Chola-era temples in Tamil Nadu.
The idols, recently traced to museums and art galleries in the U.S., were taken from temples in Veeratteswarar Swami at Korukkai, Mayiladurai, Nareeswarar Temple at Veeracholapuram, Kallakurichi, and Venugopala Swami and Viswanatha Swami temple at Alathur, Mannarkudi.
The IW-CID is working closely with U.S. agencies, such as Homeland Security and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, to facilitate the return of the idols to their respective temples.
Evidence and documentation related to the stolen idols were submitted to the relevant U.S. authorities, who have successfully located the items.
The investigators collaborated with the French Institute of Pondicherry to gather photos of the documented idols and formed specialised teams to search museums and art galleries worldwide.
Through extensive efforts, the missing idols, including Shiva, Parvathi, Nataraja, Sundarar and Paravai Nachiyar, Veenadhara/Dakshinamurthy, and Nandikeshwarar, were found at the Cleveland Museum and Christie’s Auction House in the United States.

Chola Bronze Sculptures

Chola period bronzes were created using the lost wax technique. It is known in artistic terms as “Cire Perdue”.
Nataraja is the most popular image in Chola Bronzes. This is the dancing Shiva, the presiding deity of the Chola dynasty.
After Nataraja, the next most popular image is Somaskanda where Shiva is depicted sitting with his consort Uma and his son Skanda dancing between them on a platform.
KalyanasundaraMurti: 9th century; marriage is represented by 2 separate statuettes; Shiva and Parvati’s marriage or panigrahana.
Ardhanarishwar with half Shiva and half Shakti is another popular image
Parvati is also carved in her various avatars like Maheshwari, Durga, Kali, etc. Her most popular avatar remains Mahishasurmardini – the one who slays the demon Mahisha.
Great patron of Chola bronze work: widowed queen SembiyanMaha Devi (10th century).