Nepalese Cultural Heritage

Two Important Wooden Carvings, over 1000 Years Old, Are Returned to Nepal

BRUSSELS 1 March 2024:  Art Recovery International (“ARI”) is pleased to announce the recovery of two important pieces of Nepalese Cultural Heritage.

The first artifact is an 11th Century Illuminated wooden manuscript cover of Shivadharmottara-shastram. The cover is published in Hindu Miniature Paintings of the Kathmandu Valley in 2009, by Sabitree Mainali. Mainali states that this object was once part of the National Archives of Nepal, and it is "supposed to have been lost or perished".

The second artifact is a 12th Century carved wooden Shalabhanjika Yakshi strut which would have been affixed to the roof above a traditional Nepalese shrine. The struts are often carved in the form of various Gods and Goddesses. In her 2010 publication The Antiquity of Nepalese Wood Carving, Dr. Mary Slusser shows pictures of several such struts taken around 1969-1970 from the Itumbahah temple. Dr. Slusser mentions that  the roof of this building collapsed in 1972 and the struts were crushed under the rubble and were presumed destroyed. The strut was also documented by The Huntington Archives in 1970 as one of 3 struts that went missing from Itumbahah.  As recently as 2022, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York also repatriated one of these struts that had been in their collection since 1995.

Both pieces were acquired by a Belgian collector in Nepal in the 1990s, a time when centuries old treasures were collected from important temples and monuments and sold off into the antiquities trade. While local dealers were often involved in the acquisition of these objects, it was western collectors who created the demand for such items.  

However, things are beginning to change thanks to groups such as the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign and The Lost Arts of Nepal, who are actively involved in the research and identification of deities stolen from Nepal. Their social media campaigns are about bringing awareness to Nepalis and to antiquities collectors worldwide that these looted objects are a central part of Nepalese ceremonies, festivals, and traditions. A common refrain is that “The Gods once perished are finding their way back home”.

“Sometimes a repatriation is just a repatriation” says Christopher A. Marinello, attorney and founder of Art Recovery International who handled the negotiations on a pro-bono basis. “These important artworks are being returned to Nepal today without judicial proceedings, without law enforcement seizures, without a public shaming, and not so much as our usual arm twisting. An unnamed Belgian based collector simply reviewed the provided provenance and agreed to release the works unconditionally. It has restored my faith in the art trade to know that there are still people out there who are willing to do the right thing without demanding compensation or fees for their attorneys”.

A formal repatriation of the two artifacts to the Embassy of Nepal in Brussels is due to take place on the 1st of March 2024. ENDS