Oxford University sets forth the return of a 500-year-old sculpture of a Hindu saint to India. The bronze statue, depicting the Tamil poet and Saint Tirumankai Alvar, is nearly 60cm tall and has been showcased at the university’s Ashmolean Museum. This statue entered the Ashmolean Museum's collection in 1967, acquired from Sotheby's auction house and originally from the collection of Dr J.R. Belmont (1886-1981). The museum was recently alerted to the statue's origins by an independent researcher and informed the Indian authorities.
A formal request was subsequently made by the Indian government for the return of the bronze idol. It's believed to have been stolen from a Tamil Nadu temple and later sold at auction, eventually finding its way to the UK museum.
16th-Century’s Tirumankai Alvar Sculpture:
The claim for the sculpture was made by the Indian High Commission, which suspects that the bronze may have been looted from an Indian temple. The Ashmolean Museum released a statement confirming the decision: “On 11 March 2024, the council of the University of Oxford supported a claim from the Indian high commission for the return of a 16th-century bronze sculpture of Saint Tirumankai Alvar from the Ashmolean Museum. This decision will now be submitted to the Charity Commission for approval.”
Return of Koh-I-Noor Diamond:
This move follows a trend of repatriation of cultural artefacts. Last year, Queen Consort Camilla wore Queen Mary’s crown at King Charles’s coronation without the controversial Koh-i-noor diamond. The Koh-i-noor, one of the world’s largest cut gems, was taken by the East India Company in 1849 and has been part of the British crown jewels since.
India, along with Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, has repeatedly claimed ownership of the Koh-i-noor, seeking its return since India gained independence in 1947. Similarly, Oxford and Cambridge universities announced in 2022 that they could return the Benin bronzes to Nigeria, which were looted by British colonial forces in 1897.
Repatriation of cultural artefacts has been a contentious issue globally. Last year, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was involved in a dispute with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the Parthenon marbles, which Greece has long sought to reclaim, arguing they were illegally acquired during foreign occupation.
