MET returns Durga idol to India

The prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) is returning an idol of Goddess Durga to India.

MET President and CEO Daniel Weiss signed a Memorandum of Understanding for return of the idol and handed it to India’s Consul General in New York Sandeep Chakravorty.

“Recovering priceless antiquities…President & CEO of The MET Museum signed & handed over to CG Chakravorty the MOU for return of Durga Mahishasurmardini idol belonging to Chakravarteswara temple, Baijnath, Almora to ASI, India in presence of Minister KJ Alphons,” the Indian Consulate tweeted.

Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Tourism KJ Alphons was also present. A report in the art website Artnet News quoted a statement from the MET, saying the idol was once enshrined in the Chakravarteswara temple at Baijnath. It was donated to the Museum in 2015.