HYDERABAD: In a matter of pride for India, rare Buddhist artefacts preserved in museums across the country will be translocated to the US, to be displayed in the New York Metropolitan Museum for four months, and then at the National Museum at Seoul in South Korea for four months.
Around 80 artefacts from museums across the country including eight from Telangana and nine from Andhra Pradesh will be showcasing the birth and spread of Buddhism from India to the entire world.
Both museums will be showcasing the remnants of Buddhism from early history and depicting Lord Gautama Buddha’s life through various Buddhist panels which narrated different phases and moments of his life till he attained ‘Mahaparinirvana’ (demise) in Kusinagara and from a much later period. Most of the artefacts going from Telangana are Buddhist panels. Among them is one which depicts “Gods carrying the tuft of Buddha to heaven.”
According to E Sivanagireddy, Buddhist Consultant, the story behind the panel was that when Buddha abandoned his privilege and adopted the life of an ascetic through ‘Mahabinishkramana’ (great renunciation), he wanted to shed his hair which was decorated with ornaments, as he felt that it was no more needed. Even before his hair could fall to the ground, gods descended to the land and carried that tuft to heaven. This panel was on display abroad even in the past for around 6 months, when similar museum events were held.
At the New York Met Museum, which is celebrating its 150th foundation year, our Buddhist antiquities will be on display from July 17 till November 13. At the Seoul Museum, they will be on display from December 22, 2023, till April 24, 2024. According to sources, the Union Ministry of Culture, Archaeology and Tourism, in collaboration with the archaeology, culture and tourism departments are involved in the effort to ensure the safe translocation and relocation of all the artefacts back to India.
The rare artefacts are worth millions, and damage to any of them could prove too costly for the country. Hence, all these have been insured, just in case any damage happened to them. Descriptive notes have been sent and the receipts were valued and insured, according to sources.
John Guy, the in-charge curator of South and south-east Asian art, the New York Met Museum, has met the Central and State governments to obtain permissions which were granted and selected the 80 artefacts based on the chronology of the culture and aesthetics of the glorious period when Buddhism flourished in India.
In Telangana, the artefacts were being sourced from the site of excavation where ancient Buddhist artefacts from the 1st Century BC and 2nd Century BC were unearthed and stored in Phanigiri, and from two more sites in Telangana. Antiquities from Amaravati in AP are also being sent.