Smithsonian returns three Tamil Nadu temple bronzes, including a Chola Shiva Nataraja of c. 990 CE
On 13 May 2026 Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced the repatriation of three Tamil Nadu temple bronzes — a Chola Shiva Nataraja (c. 990 CE), a 12th-century Somaskanda and a 16th-century Saint Sundarar with Paravai — from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art.
Summary
Three temple bronzes from Tamil Nadu are being repatriated from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in the United States, Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced at the National Museum, New Delhi, on 13 May 2026. They are a Chola-period Shiva Nataraja of about 990 CE from the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara Temple in Thanjavur district, a 12th-century Chola Somaskanda (Shiva and Uma) from the Visvanatha Temple, Alattur, and a 16th-century Vijayanagara-period Saint Sundarar with Paravai from Veerasolapuram. The Archaeological Survey of India traced them to their temples using archival photographs from the 1950s, and the bronzes had been illicitly removed in the mid-20th century. The Somaskanda and Sundarar bronzes reached New Delhi on 12 May 2026, while the Nataraja will return after a scheduled exhibition.
Key facts
- Announced
- 13 May 2026, National Museum, New Delhi
- From
- Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, USA
- Bronzes
- Chola Shiva Nataraja (c. 990 CE, Thanjavur dist.); Somaskanda (12th c., Alattur); Saint Sundarar with Paravai (16th c., Vijayanagara, Veerasolapuram)
- Research
- ASI provenance research with 1950s temple photographs
- Arrival
- Two arrived 12 May 2026; Nataraja after exhibition
Practice MCQs 2 questions
The three Tamil Nadu temple bronzes whose return was announced in May 2026 are being repatriated from which institution?
Show answer
Correct answer: A — Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art
The bronzes are being repatriated from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in the United States.
The Chola-period Shiva Nataraja (c. 990 CE) being repatriated from the Smithsonian originally belonged to a temple in which district of Tamil Nadu?
Show answer
Correct answer: D — Thanjavur
It belonged to the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara Temple in Thanjavur district, where it was photographed in 1957.