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Oxford University has announced it will return a 500-year-old sculpture of a Hindu saint to India.
The nearly 60 cm tall bronze statue, which depicts Thirumankai Alwar, was on display at the university Ashmolean Museum.
A claim for the 16th century sculpture of the Tamil poet and saint from the south India was done through the Indian High Commission. It is believed that the bronze may have been looted from an Indian temple.
A statement for the Ashmolean said: “On 11 March 2024 the council of Oxford University supported a claim by the Indian High Commission for the return of a 16th-century bronze sculpture of saint Thirumankai Alwar from the Ashmolean Museum. This decision will now be submitted to the Charity Commission for approval.
Last May, Queen Camilla wore Queen Mary’s tiara at King Charles’ coronation without the controversial Koh-i-noor diamond.
The Koh-i-noor, one of the world’s largest cut gems, was seized by the East India Company in the Punjab, northern India, after its victory in the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1849.
It was given to Queen Victoria and has been part of the Crown Jewels ever since is on public display in the House of Jewels in the Tower of London.
India has made several claims to be the rightful owner of the diamond, which was used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
The governments of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan also claimed ownership of the gem and demanded its return after India gained independence from the British Empire in 1947.
In 2022 Oxford and Cambridge universities said they could return Benin bronze collections after Nigeria requested them.
More than 200 artifacts were looted by British colonial forces in 1897 in response to a bitter trade dispute.
Several thousand brasses and other artifacts were taken from the British and sold in London to defray the costs of the military mission.
Last year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak participated in a dispute with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakiswho used an interview to demand the return of the Parthenon marbles.
Sunak accused Mitsotakis of trying to “stand” over the Parthenon sculptures after canceling a meeting with the Greek leader.
Athens has been campaigning for the return of the artifacts for decades. The country has long argued that they were illegally acquired during a period of foreign occupation.
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