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The United States has returned four antiquities worth US$1 million to Nepal, including a pair of gilt copper masks representing a Hindu deity, following anti-trafficking operations, New York authorities said on Monday.
One of the items was seized as part of a probe into Subhash Kapoor, whom Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described as an "allegedly prolific looter who helped traffic items" from several Asian countries.
Between 2011 and 2023, officials claim to have recovered more than 2,500 items trafficked by Kapoor and his network, Bragg's office said in a statement.
"The total value of the pieces recovered exceeds US$143 million," it added.
"We will continue to target antiquities trafficking networks no matter how complex. I thank our outstanding team of analysts and attorneys... for recovering and returning these beautiful pieces," Bragg said.
The four items given back to Nepalese authorities were handed over at a ceremony in New York.
"The return of these illegally exported four masterpieces is a significant step in reclaiming Nepal's cultural heritage and preserving its historical treasures," said Nepal's acting consul general in New York Bishnu Prasad Gautam.
The masks, from the 16th century and collectively valued at US$900,000, depict Shiva, part of the Hindu trinity.
"Both masks were stolen in the mid-1990s as part of a series of break-in robberies from the home of the family" whose relatives made them, Bragg's office said.
In recent years, the New York's Met and other prestigious museums have agreed to return trafficked works, in particular pieces from countries riddled by conflict from 1970 to 1990.
Under Bragg, who has been in office since 2022, more than 1,000 pieces worth US$190 million have been returned to 19 countries, including Cambodia, China, India and Pakistan.
Source: AFP
美國向尼泊爾歸還價值100萬件被盜文物
紐約當局週一表示，在打擊人口販運作後，美國已向尼泊爾歸還了四件價值 100 萬美元的文物，其中包括一對代表印度教神的鍍金銅面具。
其中一件物品是在對蘇巴什·卡普爾(Subhash Kapoor) 的調查中被查獲的，曼哈頓地區檢察官阿爾文·布拉格(Alvin Bragg) 稱他是一名“據稱多產的搶劫犯，幫助販運來自多個亞洲國家的物品」。
布拉格辦公室在聲明中表示，2011 年至 2023 年間，官員聲稱已追回卡普爾及其網路販運的 2,500 多件物品。
聲明補充說： “已追回的文物總價值超過 1.43 億美元。”
「無論多麼複雜，我們都將繼續打擊古物販運網絡。我感謝我們出色的分析師和律師團隊……追回並歸還了這些美麗的文物，」布拉格說。
歸還給尼泊爾當局的四件物品是在紐約舉行的儀式上移交的。
尼泊爾駐紐約代理總領事比什努·普拉薩德·高塔姆 (Bishnu Prasad Gautam) 表示： “歸還這四件非法出口的傑作是奪回尼泊爾文化遺產和保護其歷史寶藏的重要一步。”
這些面具源自 16 世紀，總價值 90 萬美元，描繪的是印度教三位一體的濕婆神。
布拉格辦公室表示， “這兩個面具都是在 20 世紀 90 年代中期被盜的，這是一系列入室搶劫的一部分”，這些面具是由親戚製作的。
近年來，紐約大都會藝術博物館和其他著名博物館已同意歸還被販運的作品，特別是來自 1970 年至 1990 年間飽受衝突困擾的國家的作品。
自2022年上任以來，布拉格在其領導下，價值1.9億美元的1,000多件文物已歸還給柬埔寨、中國、印度和巴基斯坦等19個國家。 （法新社）
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