New York officials have returned more than 650 antiquities valued at $14 million to India, including some connected to the alleged art smuggler Subhash Kapoor, in a move likely to increase pressure on others to make similar gestures.
Return Ceremony and Investigations
The return of 657 antiquities was announced by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. on Tuesday. The pieces were recovered from several ongoing investigations and were handed over at a ceremony at the Consulate General of India. A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office stated that the ceremony had been scheduled months earlier and was not connected to the royal visit.
Bragg said at the ceremony: "The scale of the trafficking networks that targeted cultural heritage in India is massive, as demonstrated by the return of more than 600 pieces today. There is unfortunately more work to be done to return stolen artifacts back to India, and I thank our team for their persistent efforts."
Notable Recovered Artifacts
The pieces include a bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, a Buddhist deity, seated on an inscribed double-lotus base over a lion-flanked throne. It was stolen and smuggled into the US by 1982, ultimately ending up in a private collection in New York by 2014. Others include a red sandstone figure of a Buddha standing with his right hand raised in a gesture of protection, which was looted from northern India and smuggled into the US by Kapoor, who is under indictment on smuggling charges. A sandstone figure of a dancing Ganesha looted by an indicted co-conspirator, Ranjeet "Shantoo" Kanwar, was also returned.
Mayor's Remarks on Koh-i-Noor Diamond
The return came as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani waded into the historically contentious ownership of the 105.6-carat Koh-i-noor diamond. Mamdani, the city's first democratic socialist mayor, suggested to reporters that Britain should return the gem—which is set into the Queen Mother's crown and held in the Tower of London—to India, hours before shaking hands with King Charles on Wednesday at the 9/11 memorial.
Mamdani's press office did not mention meeting the British monarch in its daily scheduling for Wednesday and later said: "I'll be attending a wreath-laying alongside a number of other elected officials." But Mamdani said that if he met with Charles privately, he "would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-noor diamond."
Historical Context and Reactions
Mamdani's remark opens a can of worms over a gem that has at times been in the possession of the Mughal and Persian empires, as well as many others. Britain acquired the stone in 1849 and it is now a powerful symbol in the debate over colonial history. India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan have all claimed ownership.
A spokesperson for the mayor, who was born in Uganda to parents of Indian origin, told the New York Times that the mayor "is generally opposed to the idea of a king." Mamdani's administration has described New York's history as "one of colonization, exploitation and racial oppression."
William Dalrymple, co-author of the 2017 book Koh-I-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond, told the New York Times that the diamond "has a long history of bringing bad luck and, again, seems to have been the tripwire which tripped up King Charles on his trip to New York."
