The Museum of Art and History in Geneva has formally returned a significant 11th-century sandstone frieze to Indian authorities. The relief, carved in the ornate Khajuraho style, depicts a series of celestial dancers and was identified as having been illegally removed from a temple site in Madhya Pradesh during the late 1960s.
The restitution is part of a bilateral heritage agreement between Switzerland and India aimed at dismantling the trade in illicit antiquities. The frieze will be housed in the National Museum in New Delhi, where experts plan to use 3D-scanning to identify the exact temple complex of its origin for future on-site digital reconstruction.