Prime Minister Abbott returns NGA’s shameful Shiva

An irritant to Australia-India relations, the 900-year old sculpture at the centre of a fraud case becomes a political pawn.
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Image via India Today.

On the eve of his first anniversary in office, Prime Minister Tony Abbott made the most of this auspicious timing during his trip to Delhi by returning the National Gallery of Australia’s ill-gotten Dancing Shiva sculpture.

The 900-year-old bronze, Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, was purportedly stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu before being sold to the National Gallery in 2008, and been the focus of considerable controversy after its provenance was revealed.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina