PM Modi brings back 157 Indian artefacts & antiquities handed over by US (PHOTOS)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi would return to India with 157 artefacts and antiquities that he received from the United States during his visit, official sources said.

This comes as Modi and US President Joe Biden committed to strengthen their efforts to combat the theft, illicit trade and trafficking of cultural objects.

According to the sources, more than half of the artefacts are of religious importance while remaining are cultural articles.

60 articles consist of figurines which relate to Hinduism, 16 Buddhism and Nine from Jainism.

The list of 157 artefacts includes a diverse set to items ranging from the one and a half metre bas relief panel of Revanta in sandstone of the 10th CE to the 8.5cm tall, exquisite bronze Nataraja from the 12th CE, the sources said.

There artefacts also include 56 terracotta pieces (Vase 2nd CE, Pair of Deer 12th CE, Bust of Female 14th CE) and an 18th CE sword with sheath with inscription mentioning Guru Hargovind Singh in Persian).

The motifs received from the US government include religious sculptures from Hinduism (Three headed Brahma, Chariot Driving Surya, Vishnu and his Consorts, Siva as Dakshinamurti, Dancing Ganesha etc), Buddhism (Standing Buddha, Boddhisattva Majushri, Tara) and Jainism (Jain Tirthankara, Padmasana Tirthankara, Jaina Choubisi) as well as secular motifs (Amorphous couple in Samabhanga, Chowri Bearer, Female playing drum etc), the sources said.

The items largely belong to the period of 11th CE to 14th CE as well as historic antiquities such as the copper anthropomorphic object of 2000BC or the terracotta vase from the 2nd CE. Some 45 antiquities belong to Before Common Era, they added.

According to the sources, articles' make spreads across metal, stone and terracotta. The bronze collection primarily contains ornate figurines of the well-known postures of Lakshmi Narayana, Buddha, Vishnu, Siva Parvathi and the 24 Jain Tirthankaras and the less common Kankalamurti, Brahmi and Nandikesa besides other unnamed deities and divine figures, they added.