Thread by @ChasingAphrodit

Breaking: The US government is returning 10 looted antiquities to India today valued at more than $1 million.

They were seized in recent years from Nancy Weiner Gallery, the Maitreya Gallery and @ChristiesInc auction house after investigations by @ManhattanDA and @ICEgov

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov Several of the objects were seized during the March 2016 raids at Asia Week, which we covered here:

chasingaphrodite.com/2016/03/17/bus…

and here: chasingaphrodite.com/2016/03/18/asi…

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov First up: Marble Apsara ceiling panel depicting a celestial goddess figure (“Apsara Marble”), dated to approximately 10th Century C.E., measuring 44 inches tall, valued at $500,000, and seized from Nancy Weiner Gallery on December 21, 2016

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov A limestone relief of Shiva and Parvati, dated to the 8th Century C.E., valued at approximately $25,000-$35,000, and seized from Nancy Weiner Gallery on March 16, 2016.

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov A carved crystal depicting Buddha valued at approximately $500 and seized from Maitreya Gallery on March 25, 2015.

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov A bronze statue of the Hindu god Vishnu, approximately 12th Century C.E., valued at $10,000, and seized from Maitreya Gallery on March 25, 2015

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov A figure of Shiva as Mahesvara, or Master of the Universe, dated to approximately the 10th to 11th Century C.E., valued at $20,000, and seized from Maitreya Gallery on March 25, 2015

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov A black chloritic schist stele depicting a Bodhisattva, from Bihar or Bengal, dated to approximately the 10th-11th century C.E., valued at $30,000, and seized from Maitreya Gallery on March 25, 2015.

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov A red sandstone figure of Parvati, from Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, dated to the 11th century C.E., valued at $54,000, and seized from Maitreya Gallery on March 25, 2015.

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov A red sandstone relief of a couple, from the region of Mathura, India, dated to approximately the 1st-2nd Century C.E., valued at approximately $100,000 seized from Nancy Weiner Gallery on March 16, 2016.

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov A Buff Sandstone Stele of Rishabhanata, from Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, dated to the 10th century A.D, valued at approximately $150,000, and seized from Christie’s New York on March 9, 2016.

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov And lastly: a Buff Sandstone Panel Depicting Revanta and His Entourage (depicting a very rare representation of the equestrian deity, Revanta), dated to the 8th Century A.D., valued at approximately $300,000, and seized from Christie’s New York on March 9, 2016

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov These returns would not have been possible without years of hard work by Matthew Bogdanos @ManhattanDA Brenton Easter and others @ICEgov and their secret weapon: my eagle-eyed friend Vijay @poetryinstone

India owes them their thanks.

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov @poetryinstone Bonus round: Court records show the 5 looted Indian objects seized from Maitreya Gallery are among 51 total being returned by Nayef Homzi, a prominent Asian art dealer in Manhattan who was previously director of the Doris Wiener Gallery.

See: chasingaphrodite.com/2016/03/19/asi…

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov @poetryinstone Homsi (not Homzi as above) was charged with selling looted Asian antiquities in 2015 and paid a half-million settlement of civil charges in 2016, with criminal charges still pending at last check.

See @TMashberg and @ralphblu story here: nytimes.com/2017/03/05/art…

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov @poetryinstone @TMashberg @ralphblu Among the other 46 looted objects seized from Homsi's Maitreya Gallery and due for return are a 4th C Boddhisattva from Afghanistan and 45 Gandharan sculptures from Pakistan.

Stay tuned on those...

@ChristiesInc @ManhattanDA @ICEgov @poetryinstone @TMashberg @ralphblu For more on the Ghiya, Shantoo and Kapoor smuggling networks that brought these looted objects from India to the US, read @poetryinstone book The Idol Thief.

#transnationalcrime

amazon.com/IDOL-THIEF-S-V…