Statue stolen by Mackenzie Art Gallery namesake returned to temple in India
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.
“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.
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.
An Amber Alert issued on Monday for two Saskatchewan children has been extended into South Dakota. Saskatchewan RCMP say evidence uncovered during their investigation suggests the children may be in the U.S. state.
The man who claims to be one of the people seen 'surfing' on the roof of a moving subway train in Toronto is speaking exclusively to CTV News about his stunts and the looming threat of a police arrest.
Whether an FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence is a prelude to criminal charges is unknown. The action Monday nonetheless focuses attention on the thicket of statutes that govern the handling of government records, though the department's own history of prosecutorial discretion makes it hard to forecast with certainty what might happen this time.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Exposure to synthetic ‘forever chemicals’ often polluting the environment has been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, according to a recent study.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
China on Wednesday reaffirmed its threat to use military force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, amid threatening Chinese military exercises that have raised tensions between the sides to their highest level in years.
Serena Williams indicated on Tuesday she is preparing to walk away from her professional tennis career as the start of the U.S. Open approaches on Aug. 29 and her 41st birthday approaches next month. She would leave behind a legacy that extends beyond her dominance on the court.
It's been to Niagara Falls, the Kentucky Derby, tossed off a balcony and guest starred on Howard Stern. It's even been to Innisfail. But Tuesday around 6 p.m., the Cup had a truly Calgarian experience when it floated down the Bow River.
Animal rescue groups that find Calgary foster placements and forever homes for dogs from international countries say a new federal ban importing dogs from a list of countries as a control measure against rabies unfairly hurts groups trying to help dogs.
If Edmonton does go ahead with a new gondola over the North Saskatchewan River, a local businessman has a grand idea for what to surround it with on the southern edge of the valley.
A prominent American ballerina and her husband have withdrawn a claim that Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz paid for sex with an underage dancer several years ago, saying they have since learned she was 18 at the time.
The Progressive Conservative government has said that recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) will start receiving their five per cent increases in September.
An Ontario woman says she was scammed out of $11,000 after months spent working with a Texas psychic she met on TikTok following the death of her stepfather.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Three incumbent Ottawa city councillors are just over a week away from another term at city hall, even though the election isn't for another two and a half months.
In a message to Ontarians about their plans for the province, the Ford government hinted at a 'bold' new strategy for health care, but some health-care workers in the region are still concerned for the future.
Patients and doctors alike are feeling the effects of a turbulent healthcare system, where clinic closures have B.C.'s physicians weighing their options as their orphaned patients plead to be seen by a shrinking number of general practitioners.
Several police officers were allegedly assaulted Tuesday in the Downtown Eastside, amid heightened tensions in the neighbourhood as crews were dismantling a tent city.
The amount of money Quebec has spent on private health-care workers has quadrupled in the last five years as it continues to deal with a worker shortage made worse by the pandemic.
Queen Mary Road in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood is about to get four kilometres of reserved bus and taxi lanes which the city says will save commuters six minutes and 40 seconds of precious travel time.
Five unions representing more than 5,000 UVic staff have reignited a petition asking the university to reconsider a planned change from annual to monthly parking passes.
An elementary school teacher in the Greater Victoria School District had his teaching certificate permanently banned after being convicted of possessing child pornography.
The reopening of a Newfoundland highway that had been closed for days because of raging wildfires provided hope Tuesday that much-needed supplies would finally arrive in stranded communities along the island's south coast.
Northern Initiative for Social Action (NISA) is a non-profit organization run by and for people who have experienced mental health challenges and illness.
The Hollinger Golf Club in Timmins is celebrating its 100th anniversary. It was on Aug. 9, 1922, when the club took over the nine-hole course from the Hollinger Mine, who built it in 1919 as a way to attract people to the city.
St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener has added a touchscreen self-check-in kiosk into its emergency department. in hopes of streamlining patients through the triage system.
