New Delhi: Precious artefacts displayed at Purana Qila‘s Gallery of Confiscated and Retrieved Antiquities face a serious threat of damage because repairs to the floor, which collapsed leaving a gaping 20-foot cavity in the gallery, haven’t been carried out for four months now.
The gallery, which opened five years ago, is located in the arched cells of Purana Qila and displays more than 190 historical items, including internationally repatriated artefacts.
The damaged portion awaits repairs because people in ASI’s Delhi circle haven’t initiated restoration activities. However, officials have confirmed that all artefacts remain intact and no person sustained injuries during the cave-in.
According to ASI spokesperson Nandini Bhattacharya Sahu, the tender for the repairs is under way and work will begin once all administrative procedures are completed and construction-related restrictions under GRAP stage III and IV are relaxed. Sahu verified that while the damaged area of around 50 sqm remained blocked off, visitors could access the rest of the gallery.
The gallery, which was inaugurated by Prahlad Singh Patel, then Union culture and tourism minister on Aug 31, 2019, contains the Central Antiquity Collection, an assemblage that includes items from ASI excavations and objects recovered from abroad by the external affairs ministry and by enforcement organisations. The gallery aims to educate visitors about illicit trafficking of valuable heritage objects while highlighting the procedures and guidelines for their recovery.
At the time of inauguration, officials said that the CAC collection had 198 pieces from various historical periods. The gallery’s collection spans the proto-historic to the modern eras and various geographical origins. The diverse assemblage of recovered or seized antiquities encompasses stone and metallic sculptures, numismatic items, artistic works, ivory and copper objects, as well as architectural elements.
Notable items on display include the Chola period bronze sculptures of Parvati and Sridevi (recovered in 2016), the Standing Buddha (returned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1999), Mauryan period terracotta Mother Goddess (recovered in 2016), Brahma-Brahmani (seized by CBI), and Mithuna (intercepted in New York and recovered in 2010).