‘They are gods to us’: Nepal seeks to bring home stolen artefacts from the West

Since the 1950s, hundreds of statues of gods and goddesses have been taken from Nepal’s temples by visitors from the West. Nepal underwent a self-imposed isolation until the 1950s, but since its opening up, it saw a steady growth of tourism, and with it the disappearance of valuable artefacts. Some of the stolen goods were more recently discovered in museums and cultural institutions in Britain, France, the United States among other places. Nepali heritage experts have been trying to repatriate their stolen heritage, and in 2021, six pieces were returned to Nepal by museums and institutions. Two of the pieces were surrendered by the Dallas Art Museum and the New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in the US. Nepali authorities are seeking more returns from France, the US and Britain.