One of the repatriated Indian sculptures handed back to the Government of India by the NGA. Image supplied.
On 5 December 2013, as Australia shut down for Christmas, the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) posted a statement on its website acknowledging that the Chola-period Shiva Nataraja was among items alleged to have been illegally exported from India.
It is uncanny, that almost within days of that initial news – which was to change the landscape of provenance and repatriation internationally – the NGA has again released a statement to the media. This time a good news story.
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
Instagram: fairleygina
