Exhibits at a new gallery in Delhi’s Purana Qila tell stories of their solitary journeys | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Exhibits at a new gallery in Delhi’s Purana Qila tell stories of their solitary journeys | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Written by Divya A |New Delhi |Updated: September 5, 2019 8:44:22 am

Exhibits at a new gallery in Delhi’s Purana Qila tell stories of their solitary journeys

The exhibit also sensitises visitors about the illegal trade of precious heritage artefacts and the process of receiving them.

The Standing Buddha statue (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)

Last week, Gallery of Confiscated and Retrieved Antiquities at Delhi’s Purana Qila opened its doors to visitors. Curated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the gallery is located in one of the arched cells at the fort and displays as many as 190 antiques that were stolen from India and have now been recovered. The exhibit also sensitises visitors about the illegal trade of precious heritage artefacts and the process of receiving them. The gallery has two parallel narratives — one, establishing the importance of these artworks, laws governing heritage and the theft and trafficking of these items, and the other is the display, which ranges from 2nd century to 19th century stone and metal sculptures, coins, paintings, terracotta, ivory and copper artefacts, and architectural panels. A look at some of the iconic exhibits, how we lost them, and how we brought them home: