I note that US authorities have seized $20 million worth of Asian antiquities in Manhattan ("
Museums Studying Dealer’s Artifacts",
New York Times July 27, 2012). The dealer, Subhad Kapoor, is presently under arrest in India. The
NYT notes:
Before his arrest, Mr. Kapoor, 63, used the Web site (now closed) for Art of the Past, his gallery at 1242 Madison Avenue, at 89th Street, to advertise the many prominent museums to which he had donated or sold items. The list includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, Calif.; and the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington.
I have been checking the
Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and note the appearance of Kapoor's name as a donor. Harold Holzer of the Met comments to the NYT about the gifts from Kapoor, though I also observe that they include a West Bengal antiquity "
in honor of his daughter" and a West Bangal terracotta figure "
in memory of his mother". One of his earliest gifts was a stone figure of
Nagaraja in 1991.
2 comments:
For more on Kappor see here.
Great reporting David, and thanks for the citation :)
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