Australia repatriates 29 antiquities to India

New Delhi, March 21

As many as 29 antiquities, including on the themes of Lord Shiva and his disciples, Lord Vishnu and the Jain tradition have been repatriated to India by Australia and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inspected them, government sources said on Monday.

These antiquities come from different time periods, with the earliest dating to 9-10 century CE.

In a historic move, 29 antiquities had been repatriated to India by Australia, government sources said.

The antiquities range in six broad categories according to themes – ‘Shiva and his disciples’, ‘Worshipping Shakti’, ‘Lord Vishnu and his forms’, Jain tradition, portraits and decorative objects.

These are primarily sculptures and paintings executed in a variety of materials – sandstone, marble, bronze, brass and paper, sources said.

Representing a large geographical region in India, antiquities are from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal.

Prime Minister Modi inspected these antiquities which returned from Australia, sources said.

Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will hold a virtual summit on Monday.