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Severed sandstone Buddha image returned to Myanmar from US
Published on Tuesday, 26 February 2013 19:30
A stolen Buddha image from Myanmar that was recovered at an auction in the United States was handed over to the National Museum on Sunday.
The sandstone figure shows a standing Buddha from the 11th century. It was taken from Bagan’s Kyaukgu Umin Pagoda in 1989. The Buddha image was cut off at the legs and shipped to the market for antiquities in the United States.
The lower half of the Buddha image was removed from the pagoda and kept in Bagan Archeological Research Museum.
Both parts are now on display at a section of the National Museum that shows changes in Buddha images in successive eras, said Thaung Win, director of the National Museum.
The image was returned from the US to Myanmar after a concerted effort under the framework of a 1970 UNESCO agreement. Kyaw Swa Min, a permanent ambassador to UNESCO, and Professor Catherine Raymon of Northern Illinois University accompanied the Buddha image from the United States to Myanmar and attended a handing over ceremony on Sunday.