Nepalis reinstalled a centuries-old sculpture of two Hindu gods at a temple in Kathmandu, Dec. 4, 2021, nearly 40 years after it was illegally trafficked. Ambassador Randy W. Berry (left) attended the reinstallation ceremony, where he is shown taking Prasad—a food offered to the deity in a Hindu temple which is then shared and eaten by the masses. The sculpture was repatriated to Kathmandu from the Dallas Museum of Art in early 2021. The bilateral effort to return the item, led on the U.S. side by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Art Crime Team, demonstrated U.S. commitment to protection of cultural heritage and was covered widely in Nepali media.
Photo courtesy of Embassy Kathmandu
