$10 million worth of stolen antiquities to be returned to India from the US

In a significant victory for cultural heritage preservation, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the return of 1,440 stolen antiquities, collectively valued at $10 million, to the people of India.

The pieces, recovered as part of ongoing investigations into international trafficking networks, were handed back in a formal ceremony on Nov. 15, with representatives from the Indian Consulate and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at the forefront.

“These artifacts are an irreplaceable part of India’s rich cultural heritage, and we are committed to continuing our efforts to dismantle the trafficking networks that target these treasures,” said District Attorney Bragg.

"I thank our team, along with our partners at HSI, for their dedication in returning stolen and looted artifacts to their rightful owners."

The investigation leading to this repatriation focuses on the criminal activities of renowned antiquities traffickers, including Subhash Kapoor, whose illegal dealings have significantly impacted the cultural property market.

Kapoor, one of history’s most prolific antiquities traffickers, has been charged with looting and smuggling artifacts from South and Southeast Asia.

His efforts to exploit the illegal trade of artifacts from India, in particular, have been the focus of years of work by the DA’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU) and HSI. Among the significant pieces being returned are two iconic artifacts:

• The Celestial Dancer: A sandstone sculpture depicting a celestial dancer, stolen from a temple in Madhya Pradesh, India, in the 1980s. The statue was cleaved in half during the heist to aid in its illicit transport, and was smuggled to New York in the early 1990s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) acquired the sculpture from a client of Kapoor’s gallery, where it remained on display for decades before its seizure in 2023.

• The Tanesar Mother Goddess: Carved from green-gray schist and looted from Rajasthan in the 1960s, this piece was initially documented by an Indian archaeologist before being stolen with other similar sculptures. By 1993, the artifact had entered the Met’s collection, where it remained until its confiscation by the ATU in 2022.

The repatriation marks another chapter in the DA’s extensive international efforts to recover cultural property stolen from India and other countries. The ATU, working closely with global partners, has been instrumental in investigating and dismantling trafficking rings that exploit cultural artifacts.

The investigation into Kapoor and his network is ongoing. Kapoor, convicted in India in 2022, remains a central figure, with his extradition to the U.S. pending.

Meanwhile, the DA’s office continues to recover and repatriate more stolen artifacts. Nearly 1,000 additional antiquities are scheduled for return in the coming months, including other pieces looted from India earlier this year.

Since its establishment, the ATU has recovered over 5,800 stolen antiquities valued at nearly $460 million. The unit has successfully repatriated thousands of items to more than 25 countries, underscoring the importance of vigilance in protecting cultural heritage from illegal exploitation.