Statue stolen by Mackenzie Art Gallery namesake returned to temple in India
A stolen statue has been returned to a temple in India, 108 years after it was taken by the Mackenzie Art Gallery’s namesake.
The statue is identified as the Hindu Goddess Annapurna. It was taken from a public shrine on the shore of the Ganges River in Varanasi, India in 1913, at the direction of Norman MacKenzie.
MacKenzie died in 1936 and left his art collection, along with the statue, to the University of Saskatchewan.
“He also left them the funds to build a gallery. So, that’s basically how the Mackenzie Art Gallery came to be in the early 1950s,” said Alex King, curator of the U of R President’s Art Collection.
The statue eventually became part of the University of Regina’s collection at the Mackenzie Art Gallery. Then last year, it was discovered in the gallery’s vault by artist Divya Mehra, while she was doing research for an exhibition.
“She came across this idol in our collection and saw that some things were off about it,” said John Hampton, the Mackenzie Art Gallery’s CEO and executive director.
Mehra realized the statue had been mis-categorized and decided to look into it’s origin further.
“In our files, we have these original stories dictated by Norman Mackenzie about how he acquired some of these objects,” said Hampton. “She read those files and found a really disturbing story about him rowing down the Ganges River with his guide and seeing this idol in an active shrine.”
Mehra then alerted U of R and gallery administration to the documentation identifying the statue as an object of culture theft.
“It certainly didn’t take much persuasion for us to make the decision that we wanted to repatriate it,” said King.
The institutions contacted the Indian government, and those involved held a virtual repatriation ceremony last November.
Last week, the statue began the journey from New Delhi to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, India, the same spot where it was taken in 1913.
“Over four days, she slowly travelled to 18 different communities on this beautiful throne and precession,” said Hampton.
The statue arrived at the temple on Monday.
“She’s known as the Queen of Varanasi, so this is a very important idol to that community,” said Hampton.
During the ceremony on Monday, community members reinstalled the sacredness in the idol, before placing it in the newly-installed temple.
“Looking at that footage and how she was received with such love and care, I think it really reinforces why repatriation is so important,” King said.
To honour the fact that the statue has returned home, the gallery is exhibiting Mehra’s 2020 sculpture of a bag of sand, which was purchased at a Hollywood prop store and artificially aged by Mehra. The bag weighs the same amount as the statue, as is intended to take the sculpture’s place in the gallery.
“Anyone familiar with Indiana Jones knows this glorification of this type of tomb raiding activity,” said Hampton. “Divya did an inverse of that: coming in here, taking an object from our collection and replacing it with this bag of sand.”
When the exhibit is not on display, the bag of sand will be placed in the gallery’s vault, in the same drawer where the statue once was.
“That will forever be there as a placeholder to mark that history,” said Hampton.
In light of these events, Hampton said the gallery has been in talks with the U of R to review the full Norman Mackenzie collection for any other works that may be objects of culture theft. Hampton said, while none have been identified at this point, he expects some will be found.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to quash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
DEVELOPING Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar
Hamas said it has accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar which seeks to halt the seven-month war with Israel in Gaza.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Manitoba Court of Appeal dismisses Peter Nygard's appeal of extradition order
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has dismissed Peter Nygard's application for a judicial review of an order to extradite the former fashion mogul to the United States, where he faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer's disease
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer’s disease — in people who inherit two copies of a worrisome gene.
B.C. court date set for 3 accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three suspects accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year are scheduled to appear in court in Surrey on Tuesday.