NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A 14th Century relief stolen from Nepal in the 1960s was returned to its rightful home, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Thursday.
listen to 1010 wins
The Durga Stele, which depicts the Hindu goddess Durga, was used as a shrine in the Kathmandu Valley for hundreds of years before it was stolen. It surfaced in 2022 on the New York City art market where it was valued around $18,000.
The Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized the stele and returned it to Nepal in a repatriation ceremony attended by Nepali dignitaries.
“I extend my deep gratitude to District Attorney Mr. Alvin L. Bragg Jr. and his outstanding team and the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations in New York and associated Officials for their steadfast commitment and incredible cooperation,” said Nepali Acting Consul General Bishnu Gautam.
The statue was discovered with numerous other Nepali artifacts smuggled and trafficked by notorious art dealer Doris Wiener.
She sold it to a private collector in the 1960s. The piece was so recently stolen that it was still coated in ritual pigent — a mixture of sandalwood and turmeric applied ceremonially, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The stolen pieces were recovered during an investigation into Nancy Wiener, Doris’ daughter, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possession of stolen property charges in Sept. 2021.
“For decades I conducted business in a market where buying and selling antiquities with vague or even no provenance was the norm,” said Wiener in Manhattan Supreme Court. “Obfuscation and silence were accepted responses to questions concerning the source from which an object had been obtained. In short, it was a conspiracy of the willing.”
“A single piece stolen from any country is one too many,” said Bragg. “The historical, artistic, and cultural values attached to the Durga Stele are immeasurable, and I am pleased it is being returned to the people of Nepal”
Related
Related
