Ancient stone pillar from T.N. traced to Vienna

Tamil Nadu's Idol Wing initiates return of a stolen ancient stone pillar traced to Vienna, Austria.

An antique stone pillar, possibly stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu, has been traced to Vienna in Austria.

Following an alert from Austrian authorities, the Idol Wing-CID of the Tamil Nadu Police has launched steps to bring back the pillar, said to be from the 18th to 19th century.

The officers of the IW-CID have been working to recover stolen idols and artefacts from within the country as well as abroad. During the course of their work, Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police, G. Balamurugan, received information that an antique stone pillar, about half a tonne in weight and featuring a bas-relief (embossed sculpture) of a deity, possibly Lord Vishnu, Garuda, a saint, and a hamsa (swan), had been seized by the Austrian law enforcing agency.

The IW-CID received photographs of the pillar from the Federal Ministry of Interior Criminal Intelligence Service, Cultural Property Unit, Austria.

“It appears that the pillar was stolen from a temple in Tamil Nadu,” Additional Director General of Police, Idol Wing, D. Kalpana Nayak, said.

Owing to the common nature of the pillar (found in many temples in Tamil Nadu), its exact provenance could not be located.