New Delhi:
The 900-year-old 'Parrot Lady' sculpture from Khajuraho could soon find a place at the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Museum. The sandstone piece was returned by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Canada in April.
A few years ago, Canadian authorities seized the sculpture from a person, who did not have proper documents.
According to ASI sources, the sculpture must have been taken away from one of the unprotected monuments in the Khajuraho region of Madhya Pradesh. However, there was no claimant for it and no theft complaint was registered in this case, they added.
"Currently, the antiquity piece is in the possession of ASI's Central Antiquity Collection at Purana Qila in New Delhi," an official source said. The Delhi ASI officials took possession of the antiquity in July this year.
The sculpture could be sent to the ASI Museum at Khajuraho.
The 'Parrot Lady', depicting a dancer with a parrot on her back, was detained at Edmonton in Alberta in Canada in accordance with the Canada's Cultural Property Export and Import Act in 2010.
The Canadian authorities had then alerted the Indian Mission at Ottawa about the detention of the antiquity, as it was made with sandstone, the material used in Khajaraho sculptures.
The Governments of India and Canada had long negotiations under provisions of the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, Paris 1970.
Ahead of Modi's visit to Canada, an ASI team traveled to Canada and authenticated the sculpture.