NEW YORK, NEW YORK—According to a report in The Telegraph, the United States repatriated 657 artifacts to India in a ceremony held at the Consulate General of India in New York. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that the objects were recovered in multiple investigations of antiquities trafficking. “The scale of the trafficking networks that targeted cultural heritage in India is massive, as demonstrated by the return of more than 600 pieces today,” Bragg explained. “There is unfortunately more work to be done to return stolen artifacts back to India,” he added. The objects returned in the ceremony include a bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of infinite compassion, discovered in 1939 near the Lakshmana Temple and housed at the Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum. The sculpture was smuggled into the United States in 1982 and became part of a private collection. A sandstone figure of Ganesha, looted in 2000 from a temple in Madhya Pradesh, also ended up in a private collection in the United States. To read about the recent discovery of a 2,000-year old labyrinth in India, go to "Running Circles Around the Competition."
