An idol of goddess Parvati, that went missing from the Nadanapureshwarar Sivan Temple at Thandanthottam in Kumbakonam, half a century ago, has now been traced to New York, the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID said on Monday, August 8. The idol was found at the Bonhams Auction House, New York, the CID said.
A complaint had been filed by an individual named K Vasu, who approached the local police in February 2019, citing that the idol was stolen from the temple in 1971 but no FIR had been registered. Based on his complaint, an FIR was registered by the idol wing in February 2019, but the case also remained pending. It received attention only recently after the Idol Wing Inspector M Chitra took up the investigation, and started looking for Parvati idols from the Chola period in various museums and auction houses abroad. After a thorough search, she found the idol at the Bonhams Auction house.
The copper-alloy idol of the Chola period, circa the 12th century, measures about 52 cm in height. The idol was valued at US$ 2,12,575 (about Rs 1,68,26,143), a release from the Idol Wing said.
The status of the goddess shows Parvati, or Uma as she is commonly known in South India, is portrayed in a standing position. She is seen wearing a crown, called a 'karanda mukuta' of rings kept on top of each other, diminishing in size and culminating in a lotus bud. The patterns in the crown are repeated in the necklaces, armbands, girdle, and garment, embellishing the bronze texture. “The sculpture is a testament to the technical genius of the artist, epitomizing the confident and time-honoured aesthetic canon of the Chola empire. Following Sivaramamurti's stylistic chronology, the figure exemplifies the mature Chola style of the 12th century,” the release from the idol wing stated.
“When the investigation officer started searching for the idols of Nadanapureshwarar Sivan Temple in Thandanthottam, the IO stumbled on the image of the following idol, which had gone missing from Nadanapureshwarar Sivan Temple in Thandanthottam. The idol in the picture bore a striking resemblance to the Parvati idol at the Bonhams Auction Place, in New York, USA,” the release added.
The idol wing also consulted an archaeology expert, who, after careful examination, “gave his opinion that the idol at the IFP, Pondicherry and the idol of Parvati on sale at Bonhams Auction Place are the same, which means the Parvati idol at Bonhams belongs to Nadanapureshwarar Sivan Temple in Thandanthottam, Kumbakonam.”
According to Jayanth Murali, DGP, Idol Wing CID, his team has readied papers to bring the idol back. “The Idol wing hopes to retrieve the idol and restore it to the Nadanapureshwarar Sivan Temple in Thandanthottam, Kumbakonam under the UNESCO treaty soon,” the release added.
(With PTI inputs)