<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203cb9c7e80680e0b2828jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707"/><figcaption>A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Bishnu Prasad Gautam, the Acting Consul General (left), and Dr Jorrit Britschgi, the Execute Director of Rubin Museum (right) for the return two wooden art works to Nepal. Photo: CONSULATE GENERAL OF NEPAL.</figcaption></figure>After increased international spotlight on stolen antiquities, the <a href="https://rubinmuseum.org/">Rubin Museum in New York</a> is returning two wooden carvings stolen in the 1980s from Kathmandu Valley temples that were in its permanent collection.Activists had been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/2-more-nepali-antiquities-traced-to-us-museum/">lobbying for the return</a> of the 14th century flying Apsara/Gandharva stolen from Itum Bahal, and the upper section of the 17th century torana wrenched out of the main doorway of Yampi Mahabihara/I-Bahi in Patan.‘As custodians of the art in our collection, the Rubin recognises that we have an ongoing duty to carefully research the art and objects we collect and exhibit … the Rubin’s collecting activities adhere to the highest standards of ethical and professional practice related to provenance,’ said Jorrit Britschgi, Executive Director of Rubin Museum.<a href="https://nyc.nepalconsulate.gov.np/press-release-the-rubin-museum-of-art-to-return-two-wooden-art-works-to-nepal/">Britschgi signed an MoU with Bishnu Prasad Gautam</a>, Acting Consul General of Nepal in New York on 10 January.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203ce9c7e80680e0b2829jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="1440"><figcaption>The 17th-century wooden Torana Stolen (left) and the 14th-century Flying Gandharva (right) was tracked by the Lost Arts of Nepal in Spetember 2021. Photo: LOST ARTS OF NEPAL.</figcaption></figure>Gautam said the Consulate and the Rubin Museum will “work closely in the promotion of art and culture” from the Himalaya.The Rubin has agreed to bear the cost for returning both the objects to Nepal, possibly by the third week of May. Until then the objects will remain in the custody of the museum.The Apsara, originally from Keshchandra Mahabihara, was added to the museum’s collection in 2003, while the torana in 2010. The online group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lostartsofnepal/photos/2995487014105084" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lost Arts of Nepal</a> had tracked the objects to the museum’s collection and the <a href="https://nepalheritagerecoverycampaign.org/news/rubin-museum-to-return-nepalese-relics-thought-to-have-been-stolen/">Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign</a> had alerted the Nepali consulate and the museum in September 2021 about the provenance of the two objects, after which Rubin had promptly withdrawn them from public display.Rubin said in a statement that the two objects – both extraordinary examples of traditional Newa devotional art – were the first in its collection found to have been unlawfully obtained.The Consulate General and the Rubin collaborated to verify the origins of the artefacts, and the museum engaged two scholars of Nepali art to examine and research their known provenance. The scholars found that the Gandharva went missing from Itum Bahal in 1999 and was purchased by the Shelley and Donald Rubin Cultural Trust four years later.According to Sandrine Millet, a spokesperson for the museum, the two artefacts were purchased in private sales, but she declined to name the dealers.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410110/637203d29c7e80680e0b282ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="2560"><figcaption>The Consulate General and the Rubin Museum officials standing next to the Gandharva and the Torana on Monday. Photo: CONSULATE GENERAL OF NEPAL.</figcaption></figure>Speaking with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/arts/design/rubin-museum-returning-nepalese-relics.html">the New York Times</a>, Roshan Mishra, the director of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TaragaonMuseum">Taragaon Museum</a> said, “If museums like the Rubin are actively repatriating their artefacts, I think it will be easier for other museums to follow their lead.”Once in Nepal, the Department of Archaeology will determine whether the objects will return to their original shrines, or to the National Museum. The Gandharva and the torana are among <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/who-looted-nepals-gods/">the 55 artefacts</a> currently in the list of antiquities that the Department is negotiating with museums and collections for repatriation.In the past year, six stolen stone and bronze sculptures have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-gods-return-from-exile/">handed back to Nepal</a>, including a 800-year-old <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-enigma-of-arrival-of-nepals-gods/">Laxmi-Narayan statue from Patko Tole</a> in Patan by the Dallas Museum of Art and returned to its original site last month.The 10th century stone figure of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/us-returns-another-antiquity-to-nepal/">Uma Maheswar, stolen from Gaa Hiti</a> in Patan 50 years ago, was also handed over to the Nepal Embassy in Washington DC by the Denver Art Museum in September 2021.Similarly, a 15th century Ganesh was returned by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and a 13th century Shivalinga stolen from Kathmandu was returned to the Nepal Embassy in DC by the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Rubin to return Nepal antiquities

https://youtu.be/aG3NqSX0Sk8Woodcraft embellish Kathmandu Valley’s traditional architecture, adorning columns, eaves, windows and door frames with meticulously carved figures of gods and goddesses. Historically, these anonymous works of devotional art were carved by generations of the Shilpakar clan, whose surname was derived from their ancestral profession.Indra Prasad Shilpakar is from a long line of the woodcarvers from Bhaktapur who has decided to give new life to the craft by using traditional motifs, but adding artistic license with new elements. He has separated these pieces from architecture and created them as freestanding structures of art, modifying some background designs and poses of the gods.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ebb9c7e80680e04fcd0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ebe9c7e80680e04fcd1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="853">"Woodcarving on temples are strictly defined by rules that follow the storyline of the scriptures,” Shilpakar explained during a walk around his ongoing solo exhibition at the Taragaon Museum this week. “But outside of the architectural frame, I try to experiment.”Shilpakar has a degree in fine art from Tribhuvan University and he says the background in  contemporary art helps him try out new aesthetics so that traditional woodcarvings can also be viewed separately as individual pieces of art.In his day job these day, Shilpakar works in the restoration of Patan’s Bhai Dega temple which was destroyed in the 1934 earthquake. There he tries to replicate missing pieces of the temple based on old photographs and damaged pieces. After work, he is back at his basement workshop in Bhaktapur where with his father Indra Kaji Shilpakar he works on traditional carvings.Indra Kaji is not too enthusiastic about his son trying out new styles and selling them in galleries. He says: “Work in exhibitions ultimately end up in private collections, and only a few people will see them. On the other hand, when your carving adorns a temple everyone sees them, and it spans generations.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ec19c7e80680e04fcd2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="853"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ec59c7e80680e04fcd3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"></figure>Artist Indra Prasad Shilpakar (right) with his father Indra Kaji ShilpakarNonetheless, the younger Shilpakar says it is difficult to make a living making traditional wood carvings for temples, whereas experimenting with modern forms of traditional art and exhibiting them in galleries can earn the artist extra money.Shilpakar's Taragaon exhibition that ended on Tuesday depicted the best of woodcarving found in temples: windows with intricate patterns of flowers, deities like the Buddha, Ganesh, and Matrika, animals like crocodiles and Garuda, a pair of singing Gandharva and dancing Kinnara.Even more modern renditions of traditional wood carvings are strewn around Shilpakar’s workshop in Bhaktapur. Senior Shilpakar and his son share a passion for traditional woodcraft, and have designed their home keeping true to their Newa heritage. Carved wooden pillars line the ground floor, a traditional wooden staircase leads to the second floor which has intricately-carved wooden windows.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ec89c7e80680e04fcd4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"></figure>Photos: Monica DeupalaThe attic kitchen has a high, triangular roof supported by wooden balustrades, and the balcony outside is lined with woodwork. The walls have a museum feel with displays of mallets, chisels, gouges and skews in various sizes that were used by their ancestors. "We wanted our house itself to reflect and preserve traditions," says the younger Shilpakar.Indra Prasad Shilpakar feels his family’s ancestral work is still seen as a lowly occupation, and he wants to be recognised as a creative artist as well. He says: "It is sad that we don’t know the names of the masters who created the exquisite carvings on our temples. They were never known as artists. But here in this gallery I am known as an artist in my own right.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ecb9c7e80680e04fcd5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4000" height="3000">Wood Carving: The Art of the Newars of Nepal Solo exhibition of wood art by Indra Prasad ShilpakarTaragaon Museum, 1-9 July

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Rubin to return Nepal antiquities

In with the old, in with the new