Norton Simon Nataraja

Norton Simon Nataraja

The 1973 dispute over a stolen Nataraja discovered at the Norton Simon Foundation marked one of the earliest restitution agreements reached directly between a source country and an American museum.

The Nataraja was discovered in 1951, when it was one of six 10th-century bronzes unearthed near Sivapuram, Tamil Nadu. The sculptures were all given to the local temple for safe keeping. In 1956, the Nataraja was removed from the temple for restoration and a copy was made.

Rather than return the originals to the temple, the restorer, Ramasamy Sthapathy, was convinced by two bothers, Thilakar and Doss of Kuttalam, to return the replicas. The original Nataraja was given to art collector Lance Dane of Bombay, who kept the idol for 10 years. Dane transferred the idol to Boman Behram, a Bombay collector, who sold it to Menu Narang in 1967 and later to New York dealer Ben Heller with false export documents, court records show.

In 1973, the Norton Simon Foundation in Pasadena, California purchased the Nataraja from Heller for a reported USD $900,000. The Indian government learned of the acquisition when The Metropolitan Museum of Art publicized an upcoming exhibition of the Norton Simon's Indian art collection that included the Shiva. Indian authorities arrested Lance Dane, Thilakar, Doss, and Ramasamy Sthapathy and then sued the Foundation in California court, seeking the return of the sculpture. India also pressured authorities in the United Kingdom, where the statue was on loan to the British Museum for conservation, leading Scotland Yard to impound the statue during the ownership dispute.

The Norton Simon Foundation and its affiliated museum refused to return the Nataraja, asserting India had no title to it. After pressure from India reached a climax in 1976, the case was settled out-of-court, with the Norton Simon Museum agreeing to India's title to the sculpture and India agreeing to a 10-year loan of other antiquities to the foundation. The Nataraja was impounded by Scotland Yard and returned to India after the settlement was concluded. It now resides in the safe of the Kapaleeswarar Temple in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The fate of the other five idols stolen from Sivapuram -- a Somaskanda, two Amman, a Ganesha and Tirugnansambandar -- remains unknown. Researcher Vijay Kumar has published evidence suggesting that the Somaskanda, and perhaps other idols, were also acquired by the Norton Simon Museum and remain in the collection today.

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Sculpture – statues, carvings, bronzes, reliefs, figurines

Chola

Norton Simon Museum

India

Jason Felch

Damien Huffer