Experts website Chasing Aphrodite, indifferent to the stories with stolen artifacts could be tracked in the museums of the world 236 items received from criminal dealer Subhash Kapoor. Recall that Kapoor decades holding a gallery «Art of the Past» on Madison Avenue, is accused of smuggling hundreds of Indian artifacts. The dealer is under investigation in India, and in stock, which he rented in New York City, the police in the course of search found a lot of stolen items worth about $ 20 million (according Chasing Aphrodite, 30 million).

Subhash Kapoor doing antique business since 1976, and for ten years of his gallery, he sold hundreds of items, not only to individuals but also to public museums. Shortly after the arrest and search of the dealer in his warehouse American Indian authorities have asked to check the museums of its funds Checked items from Kapoor . To date, there are already about 236 museum items that have passed through the hands of smugglers.

The collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) found 62 Articles of Kapoor: 28 of them were acquired by the museum in Manhattan gallery from 1989 to 2007 year, and 33 were obtained from the dealer as a gift. 29 artifacts come from the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in central India. This is a group of small figures, a pair of terracotta III - II centuries. BC. e and a copper sculpture of the goddess Maya Devi I century. The museum recognized that the origin of the work they do not know for sure. In connection with the arrest of a dealer is investigating the circumstances of their purchase.

at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (Boston MFA) found one manuscript XVII century, bought from Kapoor. At the Art Institute of Chicago have discovered two pieces of Kapoor (what exactly is still unknown). Artifacts from Kapoor, without a doubt, buying and Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, but their exact number is not known. Museum staff are reviewing a collection of approximately 18,000 objects and promised soon to provide a list of items from the gallery «Art of the Past». It is known that in 2007, 44 terracotta figurines from Kapoor hit the Toledo Museum of Art (Ohio), but more detailed information from a representative of the museum is not provided. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit of 81 came under the mediation of Subhash Kapoor. Most of them - are Indian drawings XVII - XIX centuries, but there are a few artifacts. In Washington and Sackler galleries Friere found several questionable activities, including gallery brother Subhash - Ramesh Kapoor (Ramesh Kapoor). Brother arrested the dealer, who owns his own «Kapoor Galleries» in New York, still at large. However, according to the Indian authorities, Ramesh Kapoor is also involved in this case.

Not only American museums recognize that there are things from the criminal dealer. National Gallery of Australia bought Kapoor 21 item, including the bronze statue of the dancing Shiva. And the Australian Art Gallery of New South Wales has six pieces from the gallery Kapoor. In general, art dealers green continent prepared to the best of the Indian authorities to help investigate.

It seems that the real number of stolen Indian artifacts that have passed through the gallery Subhash Kapoor, where more than two hundred small. Their total value is more than 20 or even exceed $ 30 million. The true scale of this smuggling network, we may have yet to learn.

Prepared Maria Onuchina, AI

Source: chasingaphrodite.com , artinvestment.ru