India expects Australia to return 900-year-old ‘Dancing Shiva’ statue, other sculptures: Indian High Commissioner
India last Wednesday said it expects Australia to return a 900-year-old ‘Dancing Shiva’ statue and another stone sculpture bought from a disgraced Indian antiquities dealer. “We are satisfied with the steps taken and cooperation extended by the Australian government in response to this issue,” India’s High Commissioner Biren Nanda said in Melbourne. “We had formally requested the return of the statues and currently there is a process which is being followed to resolve the issue. We expect that the statues would be returned to India,” he told PTI in Melbourne. The Canberra-based Indian High Commission had formally requested the return of a 900-year-old Dancing Shiva statue from the National Gallery of Australia and a stone sculpture of the god Ardhanarishvara from the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Following the request of Indian government, the two galleries in March this year “voluntarily removed” the sculptures from public display. Both artefacts were bought ...