India blinks as art treasures disappear

From Asia TImes: India blinks as art treasures disappear

NEW DELHI - The Indian art world received a hi-voltage jolt recently when two paintings by legendary Russian artist Nicholas Roerich worth US$2 million, earlier filched from the premises of the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi, resurfaced at an auction-exhibition in London.

Depicting the incandescent Himalayas, both paintings were a part of a cachet of the prized works of Roerich, a brilliant artist who went to India in 1923 and stayed until his death in 1947.

Ironically, the heist came to light only when London authorities contacted IARI, whose officials were until then clueless about how the works had been pinched from under their noses and smuggled out of the country. The institute is now scrambling to "catch the
culprits and bring the works back to India".

The case is just one among countless others of priceless Indian antiques "disappearing" from government offices and museums, with the Indian government seemingly apathetic to theft of priceless heritage, despite the millions of dollars being spent on historical preservation.

Thousands of Buddhist and other antiques are smuggled out of the country each year to museums and private collections overseas. Even the Nobel prize medallion of late Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore wasn't spared when the museum in his hometown, Shantiniketan, West Bengal, was looted in 2004. Along with the medal, Tagore's priceless collections of antique jewelry, watches, paintings, citations and memorabilia were stolen. None was ever traced.

There was a similar uproar to this week's scandal in 2008 when a bronze figurine of the Goddess Parvati worth millions of dollars turned up at a New York auction. The rare antique - crafted in 1400 BC during the reign of King Harihara II - was considered a masterpiece of the Vijayanagar dynasty.

Historically important sites and under-guarded museums in India have been a fertile playground for antique smugglers for decades. In September 2006, 18 antique pieces disappeared from Patna museum in the the Indian state of Bihar while 200 antiques, including rare Jain statues, were recovered from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the same year as cops nabbed smugglers preparing to leave the country.

Experts blame lackadaisical implementation of laws, the connivance of authorities, inadequate security and the lack of genuine documentation for the rampant theft.

Indian laws define any piece of art that is over 100 years old as "antique". The export and sale of such antiques is banned and punishable by law. However, it has become a thriving industry gnawing at the cultural roots of the country.

"The blanket rule is that all things over 100 years old qualify as antiques, and have to be registered with the Indian government," says Dr Prakash Nene, formerly with the National Museum, New Delhi. "But where are the technically-equipped professionals to undertake such a task? India is seriously deficient in such wherewithal. Besides, antiques are grossly undervalued in government priorities," he says.

"The problem with Indian laws governing antique thefts is that they are ridden with loopholes," says historian Radhika Ramseshan.

He cites the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958 as an example. Under the law anyone caught stealing from an ancient monument or archaeological site can get away with being fined a pittance - a meager 5,000 rupees (US$90) and imprisonment for up to three months or both. Similarly, says Ramseshan, the Antiquities Act 1972 proposes three years imprisonment for such crimes.

"Invariably, lawyers play up discrepancies between the two acts to get the guilty off the hook," she says. "These laws are ludicrous in their punition considering many stolen artefacts fetch far more staggering sums for the culprits. The culprits obviously don't mind paying the paltry fines. "

Art aficionados also partly blame the exponential growth of the Indian art industry. The domestic art market - teeming with talented artists whose works now routinely fetch astronomical prices worldwide - has witnessed remarkable growth in the past decade. Works by Indian maestros like F N Souza, Raza, Tyeb Mehta, M F Husain, Atul Dodiya and Anjolie Ela Menon can fetch prices in the millions of dollars.

The scramble for acquisitions has never been so aggressive. "There's awesome money chasing Indian art. It is a recession-proof industry," says Prateek Goyal, a Mumbai-based art buyer planning to launch a gallery soon. "Fueled by coverage in the global media, everybody wants a share in the Indian art pie," he says.

A report by arts institution OSIAN's Connoisseurs of Art released last June estimated the Indian market would be worth $400 million in 2010.

According to experts, trade in stolen art is the fastest-growing crime in the United States and the third-largest international criminal activity. Reports estimate some 30,000 pieces of art are stolen per year in Italy, with the 6,000 taken in France costing insurance companies some $3 billion and $5 billion per year.

Experts say art insiders are often involved in these illegal operations, as they have the technical knowledge and contacts to link with a demand.

Delhi-based art curator Shreya Juneja says museum employees are also usually hand-in-glove with the thieves.

More than anything else, the illicit trade in stolen antiquities is able to flourish with the connivance of dealers, collectors and museum curators, says Shreya. "They form a powerful lobby to dissuade the government from taking any punitive action. Besides, government bodies - like the Archeological Survey of India [ASI] and the National Crime Record Bureau - have little synergy on the issue. This makes non-compliance easier."

The problem isn't isolated to India. Heritage theft is also rampant across Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Iran, Pakistan and African countries.

In a more high-profile case of international art theft, India's former colonial masters Britain is home to numerous Indian artefacts, with ancient Indian art smuggled out of the country appearing in the catalogues of prestigious auction houses. India and Pakistan have been asking the British government for decades to return the purportedly cursed Kohinoor diamond, which is included in Britain's crown jewels.

The architecture of art theft, say experts, is different from other crimes as the items are relatively small and can be easily smuggled in or out of countries. Aggravating the problem is that most thefts are never even reported to the police.

"Victims of art theft fear that if the theft is publicized, other thieves will try to capitalize on their lack of security. Many also believe that publicity about the theft will have a domino effect on their sales," elaborates Goyal.

India also suffers from a lack of a proper bookkeeping. There are fewer critics, curators and catalogues than in the West, as well as no indices and or inventories. No inventory exists for Roerich's works in India and the Central Bureau of Investigation has found that several other works by the legendary painter are lying around the IARI in a state of neglect.

Given paltry state budgets for museum security, staff can hardly be blamed. Security measures like sophisticated CCTV cameras and other electronic surveillance equipment rarely feature in government's budgets.

One step forward would be following America's lead and creating an art theft department. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Art Theft Program is located at FBI headquarters in Washington DC. Agents are coached in art and cultural property investigations and assisted in art-related investigations worldwide with foreign law-enforcement officials.

Delhi could also plug legal loopholes to put pressure on auction houses abroad. Since many stolen antiquities find their way into the storerooms of international auction houses, it is critical that the Indian government use its international influence.

It is also a well-known fact that auction websites sell Indian antiques while keeping the sellers' identities private. This anonymity offers the perfect camouflage to culprits while making it simultaneously difficult for investigators.

Conservators say the real problem with India is an insouciance towards the country's rich history. Add porous laws and laughable budgetary allocations for art preservation and it is hardly a mystery why the jewels of Indian heritage continue to fall into the wrong hands.