A 12th century life-size voluptuous statue of a Indian woman, which resembles the erotic female sculptures at Khajuraho, has landed in Canada, but the Department of Canadian Heritage has no clues where it came from.
The sandstone statue, which has been dubbed `Parrot Lady’ as shows the woman with a parrot on her bare shoulders, has been with Canadian Heritage official in Edmonton since 2011.
But in India where this statue is suspected to have come from, there is no record of its theft with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
However, the ASI says the statue is of “Indian origin’’ as its voluptuous figure and other characteristics are similar to 12th-century figures at Kahjuraho which has been declared a UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNSECO) world heritage site.
The ASI has written to the the Department of Canadian Heritage to “release and hand over the sculpture to the High Commission of India.”
But Canada is reportedly not ready to hand over the statue to India as it wants proof of its theft from that country. However, inquiries by the ASI have yielded no proof of its theft.
ASI director general Rakesh Tiwari told Economic Times, “The picture of the statue was first sent to the Bhopal circle office since Khajuraho comes under its jurisdiction. They have reported that there is no record of any theft of such a statue.’’
The ASI has now reported the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which says it has no reports about the theft of the statue.
“There is no complaint with us and since it appears to be a case of trafficking of cultural heritage property, we are enquiring into it,” Economic Times quoted CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad as saying.
Even Canadian customs are also mum about how they got this statue got into Canada.
Postmedia News quoted Lisa White, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency in Alberta, as saying that she could speak about specific cases because of privacy laws. “Certain antiquities or cultural objects considered to have historical significance to their country of origin cannot be brought into Canada without the appropriate permits,’’ she was quoted as saying.
- See more at: http://newseastwest.com/india-wants-canada-to-return-voluptuous-female-statue-but-ottawa-wants-proof-of-its-theft/#sthash.qRtT9gBD.dpuf
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