Overview
- The sculptures are the Shiva Nataraja (ca. 990), a 12th-century Somaskanda, and a 16th-century Saint Sundarar with Paravai, all once used in temple processions.
- Archival photographs from 1956–1959 located through the French Institute of Pondicherry documented the bronzes in Tamil Nadu temples, and India’s Archaeological Survey affirmed their removal violated law.
- The Shiva Nataraja, acquired in 2002 from the Doris Wiener Gallery, was accompanied by falsified paperwork identified by a museum researcher.
- The Somaskanda and Saint Sundarar with Paravai entered as part of a 1,000-object gift and were traced to the Visvanatha Temple in Alattur and a Shiva temple in Veerasolapuram.
- India’s long-term loan keeps the Shiva Nataraja on view with full provenance, marking a continuation of Smithsonian restitutions that included Khmer sculptures returned to Cambodia in December.