Smithsonian museum inks pact to return 3 antique statues stolen from Tamil Nadu temples to India

Three antique sculptures are set to return to India from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art after research established that they were stolen from temples in Tamil Nadu.

India’s Deputy Chief of Mission in the US Namgya Khampa signed an agreement here with National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) Director Chase Robinson for the return of a ninth-century Shiva Nataraja bronze, a 12^th-century sculpture of Shiva and Uma, and a 16^th-century depiction of Saint Sundarar with Paravi.

“Three invaluable antiquities are returning home to India from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art: a 9^th-century Shiva Nataraja bronze, a 12^th-century sculpture of Shiva and Uma, and a 16^th-century depiction of Saint Sundarar with Paravi,” the Indian Embassy in the US said in a post on X.

Three invaluable antiquities are returning home to India from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art: a 9th-century Shiva Nataraja bronze, a 12th-century sculpture of Shiva and Uma, and a 16th-century depiction of Saint Sundarar with Paravi.

An agreement to this effect… pic.twitter.com/G7bdEg4gPV

— India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) March 26, 2026

It said that following provenance research into the antiquities, the museum found that they were illegally removed from India.

The Shiva Nataraja bronze will remain on loan for public viewing, offering visitors insight into India’s rich artistic and spiritual heritage, the Embassy said.

The sculptures of ‘Shiva and Uma’ also referred to as “Somaskanda” and “Saint Sundarar With Paravi” were part of the collection Arthur M Sackler had donated to the museum in 1987.

The NMAA, in a statement earlier this year, had said that research led by the museum’s team at the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry confirmed that the “Saint Sundarar with Paravi” was photographed at the Shiva Temple in Veerasolapuram village, Kallakuruchchi Taluk, Tamil Nadu in 1956.

The 12^th century bronze statue of Shiva and Uma also referred to as “Somaskanda” was photographed at the Vishvanatha Temple in Alathur village, Mannarkudi taluk, Tamil Nadu in 1959.

The “Shiva Nataraja” belonged to the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara Temple in Tirutturaippundi Taluk, Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu, India, where it was photographed in 1957.

The bronze sculpture was later acquired by the NMAA from Doris Wiener Gallery in New York in 2002.