KATHMANDU, MAY 7

Consulate General of Nepal in New York, and Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut, USA have announced that the Nepali sculpture of Buddhist Goddess Tara/Parvati will be returned to Nepal from the permanent collection of Yale University Art Gallery to Nepal.

Acting Consul General Bishnu Gautam, on behalf of the Government and the Consulate General of Nepal in New York, supervised return of the artwork in partnership with Yale.

The argillite-stone sculpture of Tara/Parvati is believed to be from late ninth to early tenth century which was donated to the Gallery in 2015.

The sculpture which is 70.5x38.1x13.07 cm went through a study in 2021. In this study conducted by Department of Archaeology of Nepal, and by the Yale Art Gallery it was confirmed that the sculpture had been installed at Bir Bhadreshwor Mahadev Temple, Golmadi, Bhaktapur, Nepal until at least 1976, where it was worshipped as Hindu Goddess Parvati in daily ritual before it was lost in around 1976-77 AD.

Acting Consul General Gautam received the sculpture and thanked Yale University, the Art Gallery, the Henry J Heinz II Director Stephanie Wiles, the Governing Board and the Curatorial team for their warm cooperation and appreciated the Gallery's collegiality regarding research leading to its return.

Stephanie Wiles, the Henry J Heinz II Director of the Yale University Art Gallery remarked, 'The Yale University Art Gallery is pleased to highlight the productive partnership and discussion surrounding the research and decision to return the sculpture of Goddess Tara/Parvati to the Government of Nepal. The decision to deaccession the Buddhist Goddess Tara was a collaborative one, and we are grateful to the Consul General of Nepal in New York and the Department of Archaeology of the Government of Nepal in Kathmandu for assisting us in completing the research that led to the return of this sculpture to Nepal.'

The Consulate General and Yale University have as well expressed their willingness to work closely and collaboratively for the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage.

They reiterated their interest in further strengthening the long-standing people-to-people ties between Nepal and the United States of America.