A precious idol of Goddess Parvati which has been missing for more than 50 years from Kumbakonam’s Nadanapureshwarar Sivan Temple at Thandanthottam has been located in New York thanks to the efforts of the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The idol was found at New York’s Bonhams Auction House as per the CID.
#Congrats ! To my team for tracing an elegant antique #idol of #Parvati in tribhanga pose stolen from #Nadanapureeswara temple in Thandanthottam, to Bonhams House,New York.Wing has readied papers to bring it back . @tnpoliceoffl @CMOTamilnadu, #IPS, #police @mkstalin @TNDIPRNEWS pic.twitter.com/3PcFBo9wcI
— Jayanth Murali IPS, DGP, Author of “42 Mondays” (@jayantmuraliips) August 8, 2022
The statue of the Goddess is made of copper-alloy and belongs to 12th Century Chola period. Measuring 52 cm in height, it is valued at US$ 212,575 or Rs.1,68,26,143, as per the Press release issued by the Idol Wing.
The complaint about this missing was lodged with the police in 1971 and the First Information Report was registered by the Idol Wing when K. Vasu filed a complaint in February 2019. Since then the case was pending till investigation into the matter was taken up by Idol Wing Inspector M. Chitra. She painstakingly browsed for Parvati idols of the Chola period in various museums and auction houses abroad.
Following a thorough search the idol was located at the Bonhams Auction house.
The Director-General of Police, Jayanth Murali told the Press that papers for bringing the idol back were being processed.
Goddess Parvati is commonly known as Uma in South India and this idol shows her in a standing position while wearing a crown which is a karanda mukuta of piled rings diminishing in size and culminating in a lotus bud. The patterns in the crown are repeated in the girdle, garment, armbands and necklaces which adorn the idol.
