The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) has formally returned a 1,000-year-old chloritic schist sculpture of a Jain Tirthankara to the Indian government. The artifact, which dates back to the Western Ganga Dynasty, was identified as having been illegally exported from a temple complex in Karnataka in the 1970s. This repatriation is part of the NGA’s ongoing commitment to ethical collecting and the restitution of stolen cultural heritage.
The sculpture is celebrated for its intricate carvings and the serene expression of the spiritual teacher, typical of the artistic zenith of the Ganga period. Following a provenance investigation that spanned three continents, the NGA confirmed that the piece had been sold with falsified documentation. It will now be housed in the Halebidu Archaeological Museum, returning to the region where it was originally venerated.