Yesterday, the regents of the University of Michigan voted to surrender an ancient Buddha after "ample and persuasive information has been provided to UMMA showing the statue was likely taken from Nepal without authorization in the mid-1970s.” Behind-the-scenes 🧵 on that info... - ThreadSky

artcrimeprof.bsky.social • 170 days ago

Yesterday, the regents of the University of Michigan voted to surrender an ancient Buddha after "ample and persuasive information has been provided to UMMA showing the statue was likely taken from Nepal without authorization in the mid-1970s.” Behind-the-scenes 🧵 on that info...

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artcrimeprof.bsky.social•170 days ago

The Nepal painter and scholar Lain Singh Bangdel photographed the Buddha in place before it disappeared, and then published this photograph in his 1986 book Stolen Images of Nepal.

artcrimeprof.bsky.social•170 days ago

In 2022, @LostArtsofNepal matched Bangdel's photo to more recent photos of the Buddha: when it was sold at Christie's in 2015 and when it was donated to the University of Michigan's art museum.

artcrimeprof.bsky.social•170 days ago

In May 2023, I visited the site of the theft - the main square of the community of Bungamati, Nepal. The partially repaired empty niche was a perfect match.

artcrimeprof.bsky.social•170 days ago

The documentarian Alok Siddhi Tulandhar and the architect Anil Tulandhar, both heritage activists, recorded interviews with community members to answer another important question: was the Buddha stolen or had it perhaps been sold?

artcrimeprof.bsky.social•170 days ago

The answer was the same from everyone we talked to: this was a theft that left the community heartbroken.

artcrimeprof.bsky.social•170 days ago

The Buddha was stolen from this chaitya - sort of a mini-stupa intended to protect the community. Buddha images face in all four directions to look out for the people. This one, too worn to be stolen, is still worshipped daily.

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