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HINDU ART TREASURES AROUND THE WORLD

Most of you know that Dr R.Nagasamy fought the case of Pathur Nataraja Idol in London and brought the statue back to India in 1986.

More news:

HINDUS HAVE applauded prestigious Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) in Ohio (USA) for acquiring 10th century Hindu god Shiva statue for four million dollars.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that because of their richness and other factors, Hindu artifacts were becoming favorite of museums in America and the West. Many prestigious museums already owned Hindu sculptures and other artifacts and many were planning to acquire.


Even some formations in world famous Grand Canyon National Park of USA were named as Shiva Temple, Krishna Shrine, Vishnu Temple, Rama Shrine, Brahma Temple (7851 feet), and Hindu Amphitheater, Rajan Zed pointed out.

According to Zed, various renowned museums in USA which have acquired statues and other artifacts of Hindu gods include Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond; Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California; Museum of Art and Archaeology in University of Missouri-Columbia, Missouri; Mingei International Museum in San Diego, California; American Museum of Natural History, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania; Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland; Dallas Museum of Art, Texas; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri; etc.

Rajan Zed further says that other prestigious world museums, which possess statues of Hindu gods, include British Museum in London, United Kingdom; Musée Guimet in Paris, France; Museum für Asiatische Kunst in Berlin, Germany; Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands; Te Papa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand; Beijing World Art Museum, China; National Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada; Victoria and Albert Museum in London, United Kingdom; etc. Thailand reportedly has a private Ganesha Museum.

Currently Chicago Field Museum in USA is showing “Sacred Waters: India’s Great Kumbha Mela Pilgrimage” including the devotional practices of holy men; British Museum in London is exhibiting “Royal Paintings of Jodhpur” depicting Krishna Lila, illustrations from Shiva Purana, Rama's Army crosses the ocean, etc; Melbourne Immigration Museum in Australia is exhibiting "Ancient Hampi: The Hindu Kingdom Brought to Life" showing among others Virupaksha Temple; etc. Philadelphia Museum of Art in USA has recently ended its over six month long “Portraits from the Courts of India” exhibition. Portland Art Museum in USA recently acquired an 11th century Lord Ganesha sculpture, Zed adds.

Rajan Zed urged foremost art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d'Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid (Spain), National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc, to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.

CMA already possesses Shiva’s Gajasura-Samharamurti, Tripuravijaya, Nataraja, Ardhnari; Vaishnava Trinity; Ganesha; etc, statues. It has organized “Chola Bronzes from South India" exhibition. It even carries a glossary explaining Hindu terms like Veda, Mahayogi, etc.
Launched in 1913, CMA describes itself as "one of the world's most distinguished comprehensive art museums". It has over 43,000 works of art; including paintings of Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, etc.; and including Asian collection of 3,933 works. Its art research library is third largest in USA with 401, 918 volumes. Alfred M. Rankin Jr. is President of Board of Trustees while Timothy Rub is Director