The return of the Taleju necklace

**Taleju Necklace to Return to Nepal After Five‑Year Search**

Kathmandu, Nepal – The gilt‑silver Taleju necklace, once worn by the matron deity of the Malla kings, is set to be repatriated to Nepal after a five‑year effort to prove its provenance and secure its return from the Art Institute of Chicago.

The necklace, which was originally housed in the sanctum of the Taleju Temple in Kathmandu, was moved to the nearby Hanuman Dhoka Museum in 1970 during the Panchayat regime. It was believed that the Royal Nepali Army’s guard would protect the sacred artefacts. In 1976 the necklace was stolen.

Nearly 45 years later, in June 2021, the necklace appeared in the Art Institute of Chicago. Nepali professor Sweta Gyanu Baniya spotted it and posted a photo on social media. She later described the discovery in a Virginia Tech journal. The necklace is embossed with semi‑precious stones and features images of the eight Astamatrika mother goddesses, each depicted slaying a buffalo demon. An inscription on the necklace identifies it as belonging to King Pratap Malla, who ruled Kathmandu from 1641 to 1674.

The inscription reads:
“कन्थि।। श्री श्री श्री भगवती देवी जननी जयति:। स्वस्ति महाराजाधिराज श्री श्री राज राजेन्द्र कवीन्द्र जय प्रताप मल्ल देव स कथि जुरो शुभ।।”

During a recent visit to the museum, the necklace was withdrawn from display. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had received additional evidence from the Nepal government that the necklace was stolen and sold to a collector. ICE representative Alka Saxena, posted in New Delhi, requested specific proof of the necklace’s country of origin, the authority of Nepal’s royal family to sell it, and evidence that it was not illegally sold to Bruce Miller Antiquities.

The Department of Archaeology (DoA) in Kathmandu responded with a diplomatically worded reply. The DoA provided a 100‑year‑old inventory listing from the Taleju Temple that described the necklace as “One gilded necklace with Rajendra Pratap Malla inscribed on it encrusted with pearls and statues of the astamatrika.” The inventory entry was translated as:
“चाँदीका पातामा सुनका मलम्बा लाग्याको, पक्का मोतीको घेरा लाग्याको, अष्टमात्रिकाको मूर्ति भयाको, लगनका भगवती देवी भयाको, स्वस्ती श्री राजेन्द्रप्रताप मल्ल भनिएको ठूलो कण्ठी एक….”

After receiving this documentation, the Chicago museum began the repatriation process and removed the necklace from public view. DoA chief Saubhagya Pradhananga said the museum is working out the legalities and expects the necklace to return to Nepal this year.

In June, Nepal’s acting ambassador in Washington, Sharad Raj Aran, met with the Art Institute’s executive chair Leslie Darling. A Nepal Embassy representative in Washington also visited the museum to request the necklace’s return in writing. The parties agreed that immediate steps would be taken to return the item.

The Taleju necklace is part of a larger effort to recover artefacts stolen from Kathmandu Valley. Many of the stolen items in the Chicago collection originated from the James W. and Marilyn Alsdorf collection. The Alsdorfs, who donated their collection to the museum in 2010, had acquired several items from Nepal as far back as 1976. Two other artefacts from the Alsdorf collection – a 13th‑century Chaturmukhi Shivalinga and a Nagraj Buddha – were returned to Nepal five years ago.

The return of the Taleju necklace is facilitated by the UNESCO Convention on the Return of Stolen Cultural Property, to which both the United States and Nepal are signatories. The convention has also enabled the return of other items, such as an 800‑year‑old Laxmi‑Narayan statue stolen in 1984 from Patan and displayed at the Dallas Art Museum.

Pradhananga added that the DoA has “proved the necklace’s provenance beyond any doubt with the inventory documentation” and that the necklace is expected to be back in Nepal in the coming months.

Article and image source: nepalitimes.com