Includes 12th CE Nataraja to 10th CE sandstone panel of Revanta
The USA has handed 157 artefacts and antiquities to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his ongoing visit to attend the United Nation’s General Assembly.
The PM conveyed his deep appreciation for the repatriation of antiquities to India by the United States.
The list of 157 artefacts includes a diverse set of items, ranging from the one and a half metre bas-relief panel of Revanta in sandstone of the 10th CE to the 8.5 cm tall, exquisite bronze Nataraja from the 12th CE. The items largely belong to the period of 11th CE to 14th CE as well as historic antiquities such as the copper anthropomorphic object of 2000 BC or the terracotta vase from the 2nd CE. Some 45 antiquities belong to Before Common Era.
While half of the artifacts (71) are cultural, the other half consists of figurines which relate to Hinduism (60), Buddhism (16) and Jainism (9).
Their make spreads across metal, stone and terracotta. The bronze collection primarily contains ornate figurines of the well-known postures of Lakshmi Narayana, Buddha, Vishnu, Siva Parvathi and the 24 Jain Tirthankaras and the less common Kankalamurti, Brahmi and Nandikesa besides other unnamed deities and divine figures.
The motifs include religious sculptures from Hinduism (Three-headed Brahma, Chariot Driving Surya, Vishnu and his Consorts, Siva as Dakshinamurti, Dancing Ganesha, etc), Buddhism (Standing Buddha, Boddhisattva Majushri, Tara) and Jainism (Jain Tirthankara, Padmasana Tirthankara, Jaina Choubisi) as well as secular motifs (Amorphous couple in Samabhanga, Chowri Bearer, Female playing drum, etc).
There are 56 terracotta pieces (Vase 2nd CE, Pair of Deer 12th CE, Bust of Female 14th CE) and an 18th CE sword with sheath with inscription mentioning Guru Hargovind Singh in Persian.
