Five antique idols to be repatriated from Australia, US

Trichy: The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID has secured the repatriation of five antique idols from Australia and the United States, in a continued effort to retrieve temple artefacts from overseas institutions.The idols will be brought back to Tamil Nadu through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) process and handed over to the respective temples, according to a release from the Idol Wing CID. The agency said the missing metal and stone idols were traced to prominent international museums and galleries. After sustained legal and diplomatic efforts, authorities in Australia agreed to return three idols, while the United States consented to repatriate two. In Australia, the National Gallery of Australia has agreed to return three 12th-century artefacts: a Trident with Auspicious Kali (Bhadrakali), valued at around ₹2 crore; a stone idol of Nandhi belonging to Arulmigu Kailasanathar Temple at Kaduvankudi in Thiruvarur district, valued at ₹4 crore; and a stone idol of Six-Headed Skandha (Subramanya) from Arulmigu Naganathaswami Temple at Manambadi in Thanjavur district, valued at ₹2 crore. In the United States, the National Museum of Asian Art under the Smithsonian Institution has agreed to return two metal sculptures housed at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. These include the idol of Nayanar–Sundara and Paravai Nachiyaar (Saint Sundarar) from Arulmigu Nareeswarar Sivan Temple at Veeracholapuram in Kallakurichi district, and a Somaskandar idol from Arulmigu Viswanathasamy Temple at Aalathur in Thiruvarur district.