BSU statue's origin questioned
MUNCIE – There is more than one reason to suspect that a 1,000-year-old idol on display at the David Owsley Museum of Art was stolen from a temple in India.
The small bronze statue in the museum at Ball State University shows Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism, at the time of his marriage to Parvati, the goddess of love.
The museum bought the artifact 10 years ago from New York City art dealer Subhash Kapoor to honor Owsley, the grandson of one of Ball State's founders and the foremost supporter of the museum.
Kapoor has since been accused of being one of the world's most prolific art smugglers/temple raiders in a federal investigation named "Operation Hidden Idol." So far, thousands of pieces valued at $150 million have been recovered.
"In 2005, the museum purchased the statue of Shiva and Parvati in good faith from the art dealer Subhash Kapoor, who claimed full title to the work and provided documentation of its provenance (origin) since 1969," museum director Robert La France told The Star Press.
There is no proof that it's stolen, he added.
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