Wikipedia
Alathur, Mannargudi
Alathur is a village in the Mannargudi taluk of Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu, India.
Demographics edit
As per the 2001 census, Alathur had a population of 1,626 with 841 males and 785 females. The sex ratio was 933. The literacy rate was 67.39.[1]
Temples edit
Historical Viswanatha Swamy Temple and Venugopala Swamy Temple are located here.
Idol Theft edit
The Chola-era brozes were stolen from the temples more than 50years ago.[2] The Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu Criminal Investigation Department (IW-CID) has traced them to various museums/institutions in the United States.[3][4]
- Venugopala Swamy Temple
| S.No. | Deity | Stolen Idol traced to | Country | Current status | More Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vishnu | Los Angeles County Museum of Art | United States | Unknown | [2][3][4][5] |
| 2 | Sridevi | Los Angeles County Museum of Art | United States | Unknown | [2][3][4][6] |
| 3 | Bhudevi | Los Angeles County Museum of Art | United States | Unknown | [2][3][4][7] |
- Viswanatha Swamy Temple
| S.No. | Deity | Stolen Idol traced to | Country | Current status | More Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somaskanda | Freer Gallery of Art | United States | Unknown | [2][8] |
| 2 | Dancing Sambandar | Norton Simon Museum | United States | Unknown | [2][9] Auctioned by Christie's in 2011 |
| 3 | Yoganarasimha | Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art | United States | Unknown | [3][10] |
| 4 | Ganesha | Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art | United States | Unknown | [3][11] |
| 5 | Dancing Krishna | Christie's | Unknown | [4][12] Auctioned by Christie's in 2020 | |
| 6 | Standing Vishnu | Metropolitan Museum of Art | United States | Unknown | [4][13] |
References edit
- ^ . Directorate of Census Operations-Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f R, Sivaraman (25 October 2022). "Two antique idols stolen from Tiruvarur temple 50 years ago, traced to United States". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Two more TN antique idols traced to USA". DT Next. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Two more antique idols traced to US museums, says TN police". DT Next. PTI. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "The Hindu God Vishnu". Los Angeles County Museum of Art. c. 1300. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "The Hindu Goddess Shridevi". Los Angeles County Museum of Art. c. 1300. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "The Hindu Goddess Bhudevi". Los Angeles County Museum of Art. c. 1300. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Shiva and Uma (Somaskanda)". Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. c. 1200. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
... In the fall of 2022, the museum discovered that the Somaskanda bronze was photographed in the Shiva temple (also known as Visvanatha) located in Alattur village (alternate spelling: Alathur), Mannarkudi taluk (alt spelling: Mannargudi), Tamil Nadu, India, in 1959; the original photograph is at the photo archive jointly run by the École Française d'Extrême Orient (EFEO) and the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP). It is unclear when the sculpture left the Tamil Nadu temple. ...
- ^ "Shaiva Saint Sambandar". Norton Simon Museum. c. 1200. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Yoga-Narashimha, the Man-Lion form of Vishnu". The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. c. 1100. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Ganesha". The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. c. 1000. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF DANCING KRISHNA". Christie's. c. 1200. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Standing Vishnu". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. c. 1000. Retrieved 4 August 2023.