NYC authorities take custody of over 2,600 stolen Hindu and Buddhist artifacts
THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Tom Mashberg
NEW YORK---The artifacts, valued by the authorities at $107.6 million, were described in papers filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan as having been looted from India and other places in southern Asia and smuggled into the United States by the dealer, Subhash Kapoor. Mr. Kapoor, whose defunct gallery, Art of the Past, sold hundreds of objects to prominent American museums and collectors, has denied any wrongdoing. Federal authorities have identified 18 American museums as owning a total of 500 items sold or donated by Mr. Kapoor. Several museums have recently turned in objects judged to be illicit, while others have said they are satisfied that their Kapoor items were legally acquired. [link]
By Tom Mashberg
 |
| The recovered artifacts are from India and other places in southern Asia. Prosecutors said the dealer had cached the items in an assortment of hideaways in Manhattan and Queens. Credit Michael Kirby Smith for The New York Times |
