LONDON: Nearly 60 year after it was stolen from an Indian museum, an ancient bronze statue of Buddha will be returned to the country, said reports on Wednesday.The priceless statue of Buddha was recently spotted at a London antique fair, according to Sky News.
The 12th-century bronze sculpture was among the 14 statues, which were stolen from the Archaeological Museum in Nalanda in 1961.
The bronze sculpture was spotted at the trade fair in March after being sent there by a dealer on behalf of the owner.
Neither the owner nor the dealer was aware of its chequered history.
However, they have now agreed to return the bronze sculpture to India.
The officials from the Association for Research into Crimes against Art – an organisation which works to preserve cultural heritage – and the India Pride Project, which aims to recover stolen artefacts, identified the stolen statue.
Detective Constable Sophie Hayes of the Metropolitan Police’s Art and Antiques Unit said that they were happy to facilitate the return of this important piece of cultural heritage to India.
Accordingly, the Buddha statue will be handed over to the Indian High Commissioner YK Sinha on Wednesday as part of the celebrations marking India’s Independence Day.
Source: Zee News