‘Give us back our gods’: Inside Nepal’s Museum of Stolen Art

Along a small street in Bhaktapur, Nepal, stands an unassuming building with a strange name: the Museum of Stolen Art.

Inside, there are rooms filled with statues of Nepal’s sacred gods and goddesses.

Among them is the statue of Saraswati. The Hindu goddess of wisdom, seated on a lotus, holds a book, a rosary, and a classical instrument called a veena in her four hands.

However, like all the other statues in the room, this statue is fake.

Saraswati is one of 45 replicas whose official space is currently housed in the museum being built in Panauti and scheduled to open to the public in 2026.

It’s the brainchild of Nepali conservationist Rabindra Puri, who led a mission to secure the return of dozens of stolen Nepalese artifacts, many of which are scattered across museums, auction houses or private collections in countries such as the US, UK and France.

Over the past five years, he has hired half a dozen craftsmen to create replicas of these sculptures, each taking between three months and a year to complete. The museum has not received any government support.

His mission is to ensure the return of these stolen works in exchange for the copies he creates.

In Nepal, such statues are found in temples all over the country and are considered part of the country’s “living culture” rather than mere showpiece, says Sanjay Adhikari, secretary of the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign.

Many of them are worshiped daily by locals, and some followers offer food and flowers to the gods.

“An old woman told me that she worships Saraswati every day,” says Mr. Puri. “When she found out the idol was stolen, she became even more depressed than when her husband passed away.”

It is also common for followers to touch these statues for blessings; This means the statues are rarely protected, leaving them open to thieves.