‘Shiva Nataraja’ among Chola period bronze sculptures repatriated from US

THE government’s archival records and historical documentation in other institutions have helped the culture ministry to successfully reclaim three momentous antiquities, including a Chola period bronze sculpture, “Shiva Nataraja”, which were illegally taken away from temples in Tamil Nadu decades ago.

- PARVEZ SULTAN @ New Delhi

The objects were part of the collection at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in the US. The other two articles also bronze casting—“Saint Sundarar with Paravai” (16th century of Vijayanagara period) and “Somaskanda-Shiva and Uma” (12th century of the Chola period)—reached New Delhi on Tuesday night.

But the Shiva Nataraja will return in 2028 as they are displayed in an ongoing exhibition at the US museum. The government had agreed to leave the sculpture there till 2028 as a long-term loan.