Art News. Vasari Codex

London's Wellcome Collection returns 2,000 manuscripts to the Jain community

London's Wellcome Collection is returning 2,000 Jain manuscripts to the Jain community, the largest such collection outside South Asia. Acquired in 1919 at a low price from a Jain temple in what is now Pakistan, the manuscripts will be transferred to the UK-based Institute of Jainology and deposited at the University of Birmingham. A Memorandum of Understanding is being signed at the House of Commons. The restitution bypasses the country of origin because the Jain community in Pakistan was displaced after the 1947 partition, leaving no suitable depository there.

gavel restitution schedule Dec 23, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art returns three sculptures to Cambodia

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) in Washington, DC, has voluntarily returned three sculptures to the Cambodian government after an internal provenance investigation determined the objects were likely removed from Cambodia during the country’s civil war (1967-75). The returned artifacts include a tenth-century sandstone head of Harihara, a tenth-century sandstone sculpture of the goddess Uma, and a bronze statue of Prajnaparamita from around 1200. The museum’s director, Chase F. Robinson, stated that strong evidence linked the pieces to problematic dealers and a context of war and violence, and that no documentation supported their lawful export. The objects were donated to the NMAA by Arthur M. Sackler and Gilbert and Ann Kinney without proper provenance papers.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original