In the historic city of Bhaktapur, Nepal, a modest building stands with an intriguing name—the Museum of Stolen Art.
Inside its walls are rooms filled with statues of Nepal’s revered gods and goddesses, including a statue of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, seated on a lotus and holding a book, prayer beads, and the veena, a classical instrument, in her four hands.
However, like every other statue in the museum, this Saraswati is a replica.
This museum, housing 45 such replicas, is a visionary project by Nepalese conservationist Rabindra Puri, whose mission is to recover Nepal’s stolen artefacts.
Puri, who plans to officially open the museum in Panauti by 2026, has spent the past five years hiring local artisans to recreate these sacred statues with painstaking accuracy.
Each replica takes between three months and a year to complete, and the project has not received any government funding.
Puri’s ultimate goal is to exchange these replicas for the original artefacts scattered in museums, auction houses, and private collections worldwide, particularly in countries like the U.S., U.K., and France.
He is supported by the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign, with secretary Sanjay Adhikari emphasizing that these statues are deeply integrated into Nepal’s “living culture” and hold spiritual significance for local communities, who view them as more than decorative pieces.
The emotional impact of such thefts is profound.
Puri recalls an elderly woman who prayed to a Saraswati statue daily, feeling a loss so deep that she described it as more painful than her husband’s passing upon learning of the statue’s theft.
This cultural reverence also leaves the artefacts vulnerable; often left unguarded in temples and monasteries, they become easy targets for thieves.
The Department of Archaeology has recorded over 400 artefacts missing from Nepalese temples, though the actual number is believed to be much higher.
The plundering of Nepal’s treasures surged between the 1960s and 1980s, as the country began opening its borders.
Many of Nepal’s influential administrators at the time were thought to be complicit, smuggling valuable artefacts abroad to collectors and profiting from the sales.
Over the years, Nepal has grown increasingly aware of its lost cultural heritage.
Since the founding of the National Heritage Recovery Campaign in 2021, a citizen-led movement, activists have been collaborating with foreign governments and institutions to advocate for the return of Nepal’s sacred treasures.
Many stolen idols now reside in museums and private collections in Western countries, but Nepal’s heritage champions are determined to bring them back to their rightful home.
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