The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The forty-two artefacts of Bangladesh, which were sent to the Guimet Museum in Paris for an exhibition, were finally brought back home yesterday.

An Air France cargo plane carrying 10 crates containing the artifacts landed the tarmac at Zia International Airport just after 6:00am. Massive security measures were taken at the airport from earlier. Apart from police, RAB personnel were deployed at the airport.

Cultural Affairs Adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury, along with other high officials of her ministry received the artefacts at the airport.

Expressing a sigh of relief, Rasheda K Chowdhury told journalists at the airport that she was happy receiving the artifacts.

"I'm happy that the artifacts have been brought back to the country safely," she said.

When the Adviser was asked how much she was confirmed whether the artefacts were genuine or fake, Rasheda K Chowdhury hurriedly said, "The government will arrange an exhibition of the artefacts in a week where you will be able to see whether the artefacts are genuine or fake."

A high-level committee headed by Cultural Affairs Adviser has been formed to oversee the whole process and ensure that the artifacts have been brought back home safely from France's Guimet Museum. Later, the crates containing the artefacts were sent to the National Museum at Shahbagh from the airport through a large covered van of Home Bound Packers and Shippers where Director General Dr Samar Pal received the valuable relics.

Earlier, the precious archaeological relics were packed in crates and sealed off in Paris in presence of the officials of Bangladesh Embassy in France.

Sources at the Cultural Affairs Ministry said some 33,000 euros were spent to meet the transportation costs and insurance expenses for the relics. Of the amount, the Bangladesh government has paid 9,000 euros, while the French government paid the rest of the amount.

The artefacts belonged to five different museums of the country--National Museum in Dhaka, Barind Research Museum in Rajshahi, Mahasthangarh Archaeological Museum, Moinamoti Archaeological Museum and Paharpur Archaeological Museum.

Among the objects there are one copy of Prajna Paramita (Buddhist manuscript), terracotta heads dating back to the 4th century, bronze sculpture of Lokanath of the 8th century, stone sculptures of Nataraj, Mahamaya, Chamunda, Kalyansundar, Panchamukha Shiblinga, Surja, Nabagraha, Shyamatara, Marichi and others of the 10th century.

The artefacts also include a wood sculpture of Lokanath of the 11th century and headgear of the 2nd Shah Abbas of Persia of the 18th century.

Of the artefacts, 14 were taken from Barind Research Museum in Rajshahi, 10 from National Museum in Dhaka and 18 from Mohasthangarh, Paharpur and Moinamati Museum.

The Bangladesh government sent the archaeological masterpieces to Guimet Museum on December 1 last year under a cultural exchange agreement signed between the governments of Bangladesh and France.

The government cancelled the exhibition on December 25 after two Vishnu statues went on missing from the airport's cargo house en route to Paris that led to the resignation of former cultural affairs adviser Dr Ayub Quadri..

National Artefacts Protection Council, local artists and art connoisseurs had also raised their voice against sending the artefacts to Paris fearing that replicas instead of original artefacts would subsequently be returned to Bangladesh. They also filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) case with the High Court seeking a stay order on sending the artefacts.