Back where they belong

Few places in Nepal have been as stripped by art thieves of their priceless sacred art as Itumbahal, one of five main Buddhist monastic enclaves in the heart of Kathmandu.

The temple and its surroundings were plundered much more than other shrines across Nepal. The objects were stolen starting the 1970s and smuggled out to collectors and museums in the West.

Now, after 45 years of tireless effort spanning generations, three paubhā religious paintings stolen from Itumbahal have been returned from New York. Proof that they were stolen from the monastic enclave came from a photograph taken by Chiniya Tamrakar of the Department of Archaeology (DOA) in 1978 of the Yetkha Baha and Kacha Baha.  

“This photograph was taken as an inventory-keeping process of the DOA. Who would have thought it would offer such clinching proof of the theft one day,” says Tamrakar of the image that helped establish the provenance of the paubhas. 

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On 14 September 1980, the three wall paintings were stolen from Itumbahal: the Chintāmani Lokeśvara with his companion dating back more than 300 years, the 600-year-old Gaganshim Bharo with his wives and Four Supplicants before a Divine Couple from 1704CE. All painting measure about 1.5metres in length.  

They had been hanging on the wall of the inner sanctum of Itumbahal, itself a sacred site dating back to the 11th century CE, the oldest, largest, and most prosperous enclave in the heart of Kathmandu. They were not for public display except during the month-long Gunla festival every August. It was during this festival that Chiniya Tamrakar had taken the photograph in 1978.

The thieves entered the sanctum through a small opening in the wall to steal the three paubha. The next morning priests and caretakers who arrived for daily rituals were shocked.  

“This was in the early 80s, and the news spread like wildfire. I was quite young but I managed to tag along with my brother to catch a glimpse of the empty wall,” recalls 68-year-old Prem Tara Shakya. “Sadly, looting was pretty common those days and the culprits got away with it.” 

The crime was reported to the Hanuman Dhoka Police Station, the DOA and the customs authority at Kathmandu Airport a day after the theft, but the FIR went missing because a mysterious fire broke out in the Police department.

Nevertheless, the president of the Itumbahal Sudhar Samiti, Chandra Bahadur Shakya and secretary Swasti Ratna Shakya did not give up. From reporting the crime 45 years ago to trying to track the sacred paintings through the internet they have been constantly trying to bring back the holy paintings. 

In 2003, Stephen Truax Eckerd, the coordinator of Imagin Asia Family Programs at the Smithsonian Institution came to Nepal to research the exhibition Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure. He came to Itumbaha and left replicas of the paubhas. 

Chandra Bahadur Shakya from Itumbahal wrote to Eckerd about the theft of the paubha to stop them from being exhibited. He also wrote to the government asking for necessary steps for repatriation, and also requested the New York-based art dealer with necessary information on the three stolen paubha. 

The missing paintings were now publicly displayed, and their location was established. The in-situ photograph taken by Chiniya Tamrakar was a proof of their original belonging, authenticity, and the fact that they were stolen from Itumbahal. 

In 2006, an official letter certifying that the paintings were indeed stolen and not sold by Itumbahal was sent to Bhesh Narayan Dahal, curator and investigating officer at the DOA in Kathmandu. Swasti Ratna Shakya who had witnessed the crime scene, got the DOA, the Police, and Customs involved on behalf of his father who died in 2003.  

Sanjay Adhikari, litigating officer and secretary of Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign, tracked the paintings and numerous online meetings with Chiniya Tamrakar, Itumbahal officials and the District Attorney Manhattan and FBI in New York were conducted.   

Repatriation is a lengthy process and involves years of correspondence, research, finding proof and deciphering clues. 

After the District Attorney of Manhattan acquired the stolen paintings, they were handed over to the acting Consul General of Nepal Chakra Kumar Subedi in New York last week. This was then handed over to Bijay Man Singh and the Newa Guthi in New York who raised the funds to get the three paubha as well as 20 other deities flown back to Nepal. 

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The repatriated artifacts were all handed over to Saubhagya Pradhananga and Sarita Subedi of the DOA on Tuesday – exactly 44 years, 5 months, 20 days from the time they were stolen. 

Bhagwan sarana, a greeting in Nepā Bhāsā, means in the Holinesses’ feet. What is the essence of such a greeting when the much-revered gods and goddesses are found in museums, or in someone’s living room? 

Saraswati Rashmi Shakya is a PhD candidate at the Central Department of Buddhist Studies of Tribhuvan University.