An auction house in Paris has halted the auctioning of a 500-year-old Lord Nataraj idol, after the Tamil Nadu state police flagged that the same was stolen from Kovipatti in 1972.

Last week, the auction house's website Christies.com issued a notice on auctioning the idol that belonged to the Kothanda Rameshwar temple in Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu, for 2 to 3 lakh euros.

The website states that the origin of the idol is with Spink & Son, Ltd., London, 15 February 1977.

An alert Tamil Nadu officer Jayanth Murali noticed the auction bid and on December 13 tweeted, tagging the Archaeological Survey of India and the Antiquities Coalition, which runs an international campaign against cultural racketeering. "France. STOP AUCTION. Return it to us. This is a stolen idol from: India, Tamil Nadu, Siva Temple, Sri Kodandaramesvara. HavePROOF," his tweet stated.

A senior official in the idol wing said the police officer followed up by sending the document proof via the Central and state governments. "Finally, the Paris auction house realised the idol was stolen from Tamil Nadu, following which it withdrew its notice," he said.

Later, Murali in another tweet confirmed the same, saying "Our voice has been heard." He thanked the Indian ambassador in France, as well as the ASI, Indian and Tamil Nadu government and his team for stopping the auction,

According to the idol wing CID, The bronze Lord Nataraj idol is from the Vijayanagara period in the 15-16th century.

The senior official added that efforts are on to get the idol back to the state.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman too took to her Twitter to congratulate Murali for the ambassador Jawed Ashraf, ministers S Jaishankar and Amit Shah foor the well-coordinated action.

Also Read: India declares candidature for UN Security Council membership for 2028-29 term

First Published:Dec 16, 2022 1:13 PM IST