Five sculptures arrived in the capital from Washington DC, USA on Tuesday. They were brought back in Nepal with the support and coordination from the U.S. Embassy in Nepal.

Manual P Micaller, deputy chief of mission of the US Embassy in Kathmandu, handed over the artifacts to the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale and the Department of Archaeology (DoA) amid a press meet at the Department.

Receiving the objects, Minister Ale said that such repatriation of Nepal’s heritage was helping USA and Nepal build a strong cultural relationship.

Minister Ale called the return of the five historical icons from the Art Institute of Chicago and a private company called Marilynn B Alsdorf Trust “very significant” and “a milestone” for the art history of Nepal.

“The U.S. Mission in Nepal is proud to join the celebration of the return of five historical statues from the United States. Deputy Chief of Mission, Manuel P. Micaller, joined Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale to welcome the 10th-century Uma Mahswar from the Denver museum, the 6th-century Chaturmukhi Shivalingga from the Chicago Museum, along with Nagaraja, Padmapani, and Shakyamuni Buddha statues back to their original home in Nepal,” states U.S. Embassy in Nepal in Face Book page.

“The Embassy of Nepal in the United States partnered with UPS for the delivery of these valuable artifacts. The repatriation of these statues is another important step in the continued effort to return historical and culturally important artwork to Nepal, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the Nepal government to bring these magnificent artworks back home.”

Five sculptures stolen from Kathmandu Valley from the 1950s to 1980s have been returned home. The sculptures arrived in the capital from Washington DC, USA on Tuesday.

Receiving the objects, Minister Ale said that such repatriation of Nepal’s heritage was helping USA and Nepal build a strong cultural relationship.

Minister Ale called the return of the five historical icons from the Art Institute of Chicago and a private company called Marilynn B Alsdorf Trust “very significant” and “a milestone” for the art history of Nepal.

He also expressed hope that the cultural assets present in other museums and private collections in America would also be brought back with the joint efforts of both sides.

Ale took the occasion to thank the Government of the United States and the US Embassy as well as all the organisations, institutions, news agencies, diplomats and activists who played important role to return the valuable properties of the nation.

The five sculptures include a statue of the Chaturmukh (four-faced) Shivalinga of the fifth or sixth century which was stolen from the Pashupatinath premises in the 1980s.

Another sculpture – 10th century idol of the Uma Maheshvara was stolen from Ga:hiti, Lalitpur returned home from the Asia collection of the Denver Art Museum, Colorado, USA where it had been on display since around 1975. The statue is a 30-and-three-quarter-inch tall tablet depicting the Hindu gods Shiva and Parvati along with their children and attendants.

Another human-shaped sculpture of the Nagaraja (king of cobras) dating back to the 12th or 13th century came home from the Marilynn Trust. It was stolen in 1982 from Naxal, Kathmandu. The seventh-century Padmanpani and the 16th century Shakyamuni Buddha were also returned by the Trust.

The Buddha idol was stolen in the 1950s. All five objects had been handed to the Embassy of Nepal in Washington DC on separate dates. The embassy sent them to Nepal via the UPS freight forwarding service. To date, 19 stolen artefacts have been repatriated from the United Kingdom, one from Australia, 17 from America, 28 from the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, 13 from India and one from Germany.

Photos courtesy: The U.S. Embassy Face Book