Twenty-one artefacts of archaeological significance that were stolen and taken to the United States have been brought back to Nepal recently.
The Department of Archaeology handed over the statues to the concerned local level on Sunday morning. Speaking at the idol handover ceremony, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey said that efforts will be made to bring back Nepali heritage wherever it reaches across the world. He also claimed that now no one will be able to steal the idol and take it abroad.
The returned artefacts include three Pauva paintings (15th-18th centuries). These Pauv paintings were lost from Itumbahal, Kathmandu in 2037 BS.
Similarly, a stone idol of the Buddha (ninth century) was missing from the Chaitya in the Machhindrabahal complex in Bungmati. Along with these, it was found that idols that had been lost from various parts of Nepal had been taken to America.
So far, 177 idols and artistic objects of archaeological importance have been returned to Nepal from Britain, Austria, America, China (Tibet), India, Germany, Australia, and Italy. Diplomatic initiatives are underway to return some more artefacts from countries like the US, France, UK, China, Austria, and Australia. The number of archaeologically important objects returned to Nepal from the US alone has reached 104.
