some stolen Buddhist artifacts from India at the British museum, London

Navrang India June 25, 2023

Heritage items in any country  needs the government protection as they make the connectivity between the past and present intact. History is built upon various heritage sites that lie across the country and in them are frozen the vestiges of past era. Obviously, they deserve to be celebrated.  Because India was under the colonial rule for 200 plus years lots of Indian artifacts, idols made of metal or rock, stunning artworks in wood or metal, etc were taken to England where they are now on display at various museums. Surviving thousands of years, these historical heritage items from India attract lots of tourists. Retrieving them back to India is a tough job,  part of the reason is majority of the British Empire’s documents related to stolen artifacts, etc.,  were destroyed on purpose by the colonial government.  The task of proving that Indian artefacts were acquired by the museums through illegal sources is just impossible.The Museums will never lose their Indian collections though  various former colony members are demanding  the return of their cultural artifacts, etc for several years and there is no solution for the stolen items stuck in various British museums. So far British govt's  response to the demand for the return of artifacts, etc., has been poor.   There are groups formed by the Indians and their major aim is  to repatriate Indian artefacts at any cost through legal process.  The India Pride Project (IPP) run by the Indians with a common purpose is committed to their target. This group helped the Indian government get back about  157 items from the USA in 2021 alone..

The Kanishka casket:
The Kanishka casket upload.wikimedia.org

Above image: The Kanishka casket or Kanishka reliquary, is a Buddhist reliquary (container for relics) made in gilded copper, and dated to the first year of the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka, in 127 CE. South Asia British Museum, England

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Amaravati_Marbles:

British museum.Amaravati_Marbles. upload.wikimedia.org

Above image: Amaravati_Marbles. Carved relief panels depict the life of Buddha and Buddhist's' symbols...........

The shrine was founded around 200 BC. The british excavated them 149 years ago and out of a vast collection, they shipped 70 pieces to England in 1859. Now they are on display at the British Museum, 

Amaravati dome slab. britishmuseum.org


relief panel departure of Siddhartha (future Buddha) britishmuseum.org

Fragmentary limestone relief panel found in Amaravati depicting the departure of prince Siddhartha  from his palace in Kapilavatsu to begin his spiritual journey  that finally led to enlightenment; dated 100/199. Though not visible, symbolically represented by the parasol held over his horse Kanthaka as it leaves the palace trotting out of the Thorana - arched gateway.
The Amaravati Collection, sometimes called the Amaravati Marbles, is a series of 120 sculptures and inscriptions in the British Museum from the Amaravati Stupa of  Amaravati, Guntur,  Andhra Pradesh. In the 1880a the Amaravati artefacts  became the Museum's exhibits  and they were sometimes also called the Elliot Marbles on account of their association in with Sir Walter Elliot of Madras presidency, who had them removed from the site to Madras in the 1840s

There are also large and best  collections of Amaravati sculpture in the Chennai Government Museum and  also in the museum at the site in  Amaravati. There are smaller artifacts of Amaravati marblesz  in other museums  across India. 
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Bracket figure from Sanchi:

British museum Sanchi_Yakshiwikimedia.org

Bracket figure from Sanchi on display at the British Museum;
1st Century AD  made of Sandstone, 65 cm High
Present location British Museum, London
Registration:1842.  Architectural bracket in the form of a yakṣī clasping a tree; carved in beige sandstone; abraded.