# @hyperallergic on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DUGddWRgTiR
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/54709217-hyperallergic-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/87136b0596.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-01-29T16:15:30.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Hyperallergic (@hyperallergic) — https://gondola.cc/hyperallergic

## Caption

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) will repatriate three bronze sculptures of Hindu gods and their followers to the Indian government. Dating back hundreds of years, the sculptures had been stolen from Tamil temples and smuggled out of India in the mid-20th century, leaving murky provenance records before the Smithsonian's acquisition.

The museum said that one of the three bronzes, “Shiva Nataraja” (Chola dynasty, c. 990 CE), will remain at the NMAA for an ongoing exhibition in a long-term loan agreement, sparking questions about the Indian government’s capacity to make decisions on what is technically the religious property of the temple of origin. “It's a well-settled matter that bronzes are property of the temple,” India Pride Project co-founder Vijay Kumar told Hyperallergic, noting that the casts are considered living gods. “So the Government of India has no ownership over them to offer [as a] long-term loan. The ‘Nataraja’ was stolen from the Tirutturaipoondi temple and the temple is very much ready to receive it.”

Hyperallergic has contacted the Embassy of India in Washington, DC, the Indian Ministry of Culture, and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs about the long-term loan agreement and future plans for the “Shiva Nataraja” upon its restitution.

To get the full story by rhea.nayyar, visit our link in bio.
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“Somaskanda” (Chola period, 12th century) Tamil Nadu state, India (image courtesy NMAA)

#Smithsonian #NationalMuseumofAsianArt #Repatriation #IndiaPrideProject

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## Tags

nationalmuseumofasianart, smithsonian, repatriation, indiaprideproject

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