Tara’s idol arrives in Nepal from USA

 Kathmandu, June 25: The idol of Buddhist goddess Tara stolen from Bhaktapur 45 years ago arrived in Kathmandu from Yale University Art Gallery of New York, USA, on Thursday. 

The argillite-stone sculpture of Tara that dates back to the late ninth to early 10th century was donated to the gallery by a donor in 2015. Organising a press meet at the Department of Archaeology (DoA) on Thgursday, Manual P Micaller, deputy chief of mission of the US Embassy in Kathmandu, handed over the cultural artefact to the DoA. 

Research on this sculpture conducted in 2021 by the Department of Archaeology of Nepal and by the Yale Art Gallery confirmed that the sculpture had been installed at Bir 

Bhadreshwor Mahadev Temple, Golmadi, Bhaktapur, until 1976 and it used to be worshipped as Hindu goddess Parvati in daily ritual before it was lost in around 1976-77 AD. 

Receiving the sculpture, Damodar Gautam, Director General of DoA, expressed gratitude to Yale University for returning the master piece of stone sculpture to its home town. 

He hoped that such kinds of properties which are in the US museums would be returned from the United States.  

 Micaller also expressed his happiness for returning another piece of Nepal’s rich cultural heritage to its origin home. 

The sculpture weighs 83 kilograms.      

The Consulate General of Nepal in New York and the Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut USA had jointly announced the transfer of 

the Nepali sculpture - Buddhist Goddess Tara from the permanent collection of the Yale University 

Art Gallery to Nepal on May 25 after they signed an agreement paper on May 6, 2022. 

The Yale University has provided insurance and transportation cost to bring the sculpture to Kathmandu 

So far, 84 several sculptures stolen from Nepal were returned. 

Of them, 19 pieces of sculpture were returned from the UK, one piece from Austria, 22 from America, 28 from Tibet, 13 from Kolkata and one from Germany.