
Last week the NGA published the results of their independent review of their Asian Art Provenance Project. The review followed the scandal over the 12th century Shiva statue that was revealed to be part of a cache of art looted from a temple and sold by now-disgraced New York art dealer Subhash Kapoor. The review has turned up a 22 objects with questionable provenance (including the already returned Shiva and the soon-to-be-returned Seated Buddha). The NGA director Gerard Vaughan said ‘I welcome Mrs Crennan’s independent assessment which clarifies the legal and ethical framework in which the NGA’s collecting should take place; this will prove invaluable for ongoing provenance-checking and comparative risk assessment. The review provides a clear set of guidelines which the NGA can incorporate into…