A looted statue sat at the DMA for decades. The loss to Nepal was incalculable.
The FBI has transferred the Lakshmi-Narayana stele to the Nepalese embassy in the U.S.
A Lakshmi-Narayana stele from Nepal (foreground, center left) is shown on display in the exhibition East Meets West: Sculpture from the David T. Owsley Collection from 1993 to 1994 at the Dallas Museum of Art. The DMA removed the stele from display in late 2019 in response to concerns about the provenance of the artwork.(Dallas Museum of Art via University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History (used with permission))
FBI and Dallas Museum of Art team up to send stolen artwork back to Nepal
The piece, a stone carving depicting two Hindu gods, is being returned to its home country.
Representatives from the FBI and the Dallas Museum of Art pose behind a carved stone monument that is being returned to Nepal.(Chadwick Redmon)
After conducting its own investigation, the FBI helped arrange an agreement between the Dallas Museum of Art and the Embassy of Nepal to return to that country a rare piece of art loaned to the DMA 30 years ago. As the investigation confirmed, the piece had been stolen.