KATHMANDU, May 3: The Nepali Embassy in Washington, USA, has sent 24 statues of archaeological value back to Nepal. An American citizen Susan Bradford voluntarily handed the idols collected by her over to the Nepali Embassy representatives in Hawaii island.
The materials, handed over to embassy personnel, were shipped to Nepal from Hawaii in coordination with the Department of Archaeology. According to the embassy, these idols date back to the thirteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, crafted from metal, wood, stone, and bone.
Stolen archaeological idols not yet detected
Uttam Ghimire, Second Secretary of the Embassy, stated, "We are actively engaged in the retrieval and repatriation of numerous religious and cultural artifacts lost from Nepal. This time, American citizen Susan herself contacted us, and we successfully completed the repatriation process."
Ghimire further mentioned that the Department of Archaeology is prepared to restore the missing artifacts.
Among the artifacts repatriated are the Kalakubera idol of Dhalot, Bishwarupa idol, Mahishasura Mardini idol, Maha Manjushree Shakti idol known as Mokshada, Bighnantaka Bhairava idol of Dhalot, Prajnaparamita copper idol, Kinnari idol of Dhalot, wooden Barahi idol, Chamunda head, Saraswati idol of Prastar, Manjushree Shakti of Prastra, Agastha Muni idol of Prastra, handwritten texts, Kubera idol, copper kali yantra, bone Sitapati yantra, wooden phurwa, iron lock, cast iron sinhamu, and iron trishul.
The embassy has facilitated the return of 63 different sculptures and architectural artifacts to Nepal over the past year.
