THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 24, 2016- Topic 2
The return to India of three ancient
sculptures from the National Gallery of
Australia is another milestone in
the long and difficult campaign waged by several countries to repossess their
cultural treasures, which have often been bought by museums from idol
smugglers. As the provenance of the artefacts — the 900-year old statues of
Goddess Pratyangira and Seated Buddha, and the third century Worshippers of
Buddha — became clear, the only ethical course open to the Australian gallery
was to restore the sculptures, which it must be commended for pursuing.
Evidently, the two icons other than the sandstone Seated Buddha were acquired
from a New York-based art dealer,
Subhash Kapoor, for about $840,000 on the strength of fake documentation: he is
now facing prosecution in Tamil Nadu. These are by no means isolated instances.
In June, the United States formally returned to India about 200 stolen cultural
objects, which include 2,000-year-old artefacts, part of a $100 million trove
unearthed by an investigation of Kapoor’s art business. What emerges from these
long battles to reclaim articles that constitute cultural heritage is the
insight that a dedicated national agency with State government support would be
better equipped to fight the scourge of theft and illicit transfer. With
trained personnel, it could devote itself to the task of documenting antiquities
and ensuring that the country’s ports are sealed against smuggling.
The National Gallery of Australia’s
inquiry into the status of its Asian art objects conducted by a retired judge,
Susan Crennan, has had the positive outcome of identifying 22 articles that
have questionable or doubtful credentials, 14 of which were purchased from
Kapoor. Many of the findings in the Australian review underscore the importance
of creating a strong repository of information of all Indian antiquities,
backed up by unimpeachable forensic records, so that they may be claimed
without difficulty at a future date. A lot of the illicit trade has been
carried out by smugglers who have laundered the provenance of idols using fake
documentation designed to overcome the prohibition imposed by the Antiquities
and Art Treasures Act, 1972 on non-governmental exports. Providentially, it is
the records of a research institution such as the French Institute of
Pondicherry that helped establish the claim to the 11th-12th century Nataraja
idol stolen from Tamil Nadu in 2006. Documentation of antiquities using public
and private records should become a national mission. These treasures could
then be put on display in national museums.
Vocabulary
Sculptures: make or represent (a form) by carving, casting, or other shaping
techniques.
Example: The choir stalls were each carefully sculptured
Waged: carry on (a war or campaign).
Example: It is necessary to destroy their capacity to wage war
Synonyms: engage in, carry on, conduct, execute, pursue, prosecute
Provenance: the place of origin or earliest known history of something.
Example: An orange rug of Iranian provenance
Synonyms: origin, source, place of origin, birthplace, fount, roots, pedigree
Artefacts: an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or
historical interest.
Example: Gold and silver artifacts
Synonyms: relic, article, handiwork
Trove: a store of valuable or delightful things.
Example: The museum's trove of antique treasure
Scourge: a whip used as an instrument of punishment.
Example: Begone, or shall I be required to chastise you with the whip and the
scourge once more?
Synonyms: whip, horsewhip, lash, strap, birch, switch, bullwhip
Antiquities: the ancient past, especially the period before the Middle Ages.
Example: The great civilizations of antiquity
Synonyms: ancient times, the ancient past, classical times
Unimpeachable: not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized; entirely trustworthy.
Example: An unimpeachable witness
Synonyms: trustworthy, reliable, dependable, above suspicion, irreproachable
Laundered: wash, or wash and iron, (clothes or linens).
Example: He wasn't used to laundering his own bed linens
Synonyms: wash, wash and iron, clean, dry-clean