Varaha Rescuing the Earth
Object or Group Name
Varaha Rescuing the Earth
Case Summary
In 1996, an Indian antiquities trafficker known as "Shantoo" sold the looted Stele of Varaha to Manhattan antiquities dealer Subhash Kapoor, court records show.
When the Stele of Varaha arrived at Kapoor's gallery Art of the Past that March, it showed various signs of having recently been stolen: the shipment appeared to have been packed hastily, with a crate made of weak wood that was breaking apart; the contents - including the Stele of Varaha - were wrapped in wet shredded Indian newspaper that was rotting. The enclosed artifacts appeared to be dirty and unrestored, according to Kapoor's later criminal indictment.
In April 2020, Kapoor created a false provenance for the Stele of Varaha with the help of his then girlfriend, Grace Punusamy, owner of the Singapore gallery Jazmin Asian Art. The letter stated that a private collector had acquired the Stele of Varaha in the 1950's or 1960's and has kept it in Singapore since the 1970's.
On May 17, 2001, Kapoor sold the Stele of Varaha to the Toledo Museum of Art for USD$225,000 with the fraudulent provenance letter.
In 2009, Punusamy had a falling out with Kapoor that ended in litigation, and she informed the Toledo Museum that the provenance for the Stele of Varaha was fraudulent. The museum contacted Kapoor about the allegation, and he responded with a letter dismissing the claim, but giving the museum the option to return the sculpture. Despite the Stele of Varaha's clouded provenance, the Toledo's Director, Don Bacigalupi, and Chief Curator, Carolyn Putney, opted to keep the sculpture.
It was not until December 2016, as federal authorities began investigating the museum's dealings with Kapoor, that the the Toledo Museum repatriated the Stele of Varaha to the Indian Government.
When the Stele of Varaha arrived at Kapoor's gallery Art of the Past that March, it showed various signs of having recently been stolen: the shipment appeared to have been packed hastily, with a crate made of weak wood that was breaking apart; the contents - including the Stele of Varaha - were wrapped in wet shredded Indian newspaper that was rotting. The enclosed artifacts appeared to be dirty and unrestored, according to Kapoor's later criminal indictment.
In April 2020, Kapoor created a false provenance for the Stele of Varaha with the help of his then girlfriend, Grace Punusamy, owner of the Singapore gallery Jazmin Asian Art. The letter stated that a private collector had acquired the Stele of Varaha in the 1950's or 1960's and has kept it in Singapore since the 1970's.
On May 17, 2001, Kapoor sold the Stele of Varaha to the Toledo Museum of Art for USD$225,000 with the fraudulent provenance letter.
In 2009, Punusamy had a falling out with Kapoor that ended in litigation, and she informed the Toledo Museum that the provenance for the Stele of Varaha was fraudulent. The museum contacted Kapoor about the allegation, and he responded with a letter dismissing the claim, but giving the museum the option to return the sculpture. Despite the Stele of Varaha's clouded provenance, the Toledo's Director, Don Bacigalupi, and Chief Curator, Carolyn Putney, opted to keep the sculpture.
It was not until December 2016, as federal authorities began investigating the museum's dealings with Kapoor, that the the Toledo Museum repatriated the Stele of Varaha to the Indian Government.
See Also
Number of Objects
1
Object Type
Sculpture – statues, carvings, bronzes, reliefs, figurines
Culture
Pala Dynasty
Museum Name
Toledo Museum of Art
Receiving Country
India
Sources
Toledo Museum of Art to Return Four Works of Art with Falsified or Inadequate Provenance Documentation to Republic of India
https://web.archive.org/web/20160721175448/http://www.toledomuseum.org/provenance/kapoor-acquisitions/
MOLA Contributor(s)
Jason Felch
Peer Reviewed By
Damien Huffer
Citation
“Varaha Rescuing the Earth,” Museum of Looted Antiquities, accessed October 9, 2024, https://mola.omeka.net/items/show/2148.