Nepal

Most of Nepal’s stolen artefacts seem homebound. On August 23, two stolen archaeologically important artefacts, the wooden artistic pylon and a statue of a devotee, stolen nearly 40 years ago, were returned to Nepal from Britain.

Among the two artefacts, the wooden artistic pylon which is believed to have been made around the 17th or 18th century, was stolen in the 1980s-90s from the entrance of Kumari Waha in KMC-23.

Likewise, the statue of a  Kashini, a devotee sitting in the Namaskara posture made of stone, believed to have been built in the 16th or 17th century, was lost in 1980 from near Manjushree Temple at Om Bahal in KMC-23.

According to the Department of Archaeology, the artefacts reached London through various means and, later, the place of origin was confirmed to be Nepal.

Subsequently, they were handed over to the Nepali Embassy in London on March 18, 2022, by the Metropolitan Police in London.

The government coordinated with Namaste A2Z Company London to bring the artefacts. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation bore the cost of insurance and customs to transport the two artefacts back to their rightful places in Kathmandu.

On August 23, the artefacts were brought to Nepal on a Turkish Airlines flight.

Thousands of priceless and age-old artefacts from Nepal were stolen by smugglers in the 1980s and 1990s, who then sold those to private collectors mainly in western countries.

Following campaigns to return them, the artefacts are being returned now.

According to the Department of Archaeology, 72 statues, religious texts and artefacts are being returned from Austria, United States of America, Tibetan Autonomous Region of China, India, Germany, Italy.

From Britain alone, 19 items were returned from Britain in April 1996, according to the Department.

In all, 93 artefacts have been returned by various national and international individuals and organizations. Apart from this, diplomatic initiatives are being taken to return more artefacts from the USA, France, Britain, Germany and Australia, the Department said.