In a landmark victory for cultural heritage, the United States has repatriated 657 stolen antiquities to India. Valued at approximately $14 million, these artifacts were recovered following intensive investigations into global trafficking syndicates that have targeted India’s history for decades.
The artefacts were returned at a ceremony held in New York, presided over by Consul Rajlakshmi Kadam. Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg made the statement at the event indicating that despite the successful recovery of the artifacts, their efforts continue to take down the organisations involved in trafficking of the antiquities. According to Alvin, the investigations were conducted against Subhash Kapoor and Nancy Weiner who played significant roles in trafficking artifacts.
Both of them are well-known in the business of trafficking and have been convicted in their countries. Subhash Kapoor, the disgraced dealer serving his prison term in India and Nancy Weiner, an indicted trafficker notorious for forging provenances were the main players in smuggling the 657 artifacts. The last batch of 19 items was recovered on April 28, 2026.
These include some magnificent pieces of art:
The Bronze Avalokiteshvara Statue: Worth $2 million, this is a rare statue that bears an inscription revealing the name of its sculptor, Dronaditya of Sirpur. The item was stolen from a museum in Chhattisgarh in 1982.
Red Sandstone Buddha: Worth $7.5 million, this Buddha statue from northern India depicts the deity making the abhaya mudra pose signifying protection.
Sandstone Dancing Ganesha: This statue was stolen from a temple in Madhya Pradesh in 2000 and smuggled through complicated networks before reaching an auction house.
Binaya Pradhan, the Consul General of India to New York, thanked the United States’ law enforcement agencies for their diligence in bringing back the stolen artifacts. This will go down in history as a milestone in repatriating ‘stolen Gods’ and promoting cultural relations between the two countries.
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