CHENNAI: In a significant boost to India’s cultural heritage recovery efforts, the Smithsonian Institution in the US has formally agreed to repatriate a stolen 12th-century Chola bronze idol to Tamil Nadu, vindicating the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT)-based legal strategy pursued by the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID.
The idol is a rare Somaskanda bronze depicting Saint Sundarar with Parvati, originally worshipped at the Arulmigu Vishwanatha Swamy Temple in Alatur village, Tiruvarur district. The original bronze was illicitly removed decades ago, with a modern replica installed in its place — a substitution that concealed the theft for years.
The breakthrough follows a painstaking investigation launched by the Idol Wing in early 2022 under its then leadership. Investigators reconstructed the idol’s provenance by matching archival photographs taken in 1959 by the French Institute of Pondicherry with images of a bronze housed at the Smithsonian’s Freer Sackler Gallery in Washington DC. Detailed expert analysis established a complete match, confirming the idol’s identity and origin.
Armed with this evidence, the Idol Wing submitted a formal MLAT request to the US authorities on October 25, 2022, asserting India’s lawful ownership of the bronze. The case then underwent extensive legal and provenance scrutiny over the next three years. Following this review, the Smithsonian Institution has now accepted the claim and initiated the process for repatriation.
“This decision stands as a clear validation of the MLAT-based recovery strategy institutionalised and systematically pursued by the Idol Wing under my leadership,” said K Jayanth Murali, retired IPS officer and former head of the Wing. “It demonstrates that evidence-based investigation, archival documentation and sustained international legal cooperation can deliver concrete results.”
The return of the Somaskanda bronze is being seen as a milestone that could pave the way for further recoveries. Between 2021 and 2022, the Idol Wing submitted over 50 MLAT requests for idols traced to collections abroad. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is coordinating several related cases, has confirmed that multiple requests remain under active processing, raising expectations of more repatriations to Tamil Nadu in the coming months.