A Battle Of Brains Begins With A Nepalese Plea To Our Better Selves Among Genuine Forgery

Replica Saraswati Hindu Goddess from Nepal's Museum of Stolen Art

If you were in possession of a once looted piece of antique culture from Nepal, would you give it back? What if there was nothing stopping you from keeping it? Put yourself in the shoes of a collector, who values their possessions on a scale that actually measures up to the “right thing to do” and often wins. It’s a tough one, we know that in the harsh reality of this world, most people would not give their antique back. After-all, Nepal is not in a position to enforce or pay for the return. So, what’s next for the rightful custodians of local heritage? A deal. A battle between the part of us descended from apes, reptiles, amphibians, and fish and the part of us descended from heaven.  
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Nonsense, I can imagine some of you thinking. Let’s look at it another way. Freud spoke of the subconscious and the id. The subconscious is the bit of us descended from nature, it wants and needs, it desires. The id is the part of us we have built ourselves from the most powerful wisdom we can find. Our morality and our notion of what is right comes from this, it’s in the brain because as we learn through life, our brain creates the proper connections. Pitting these brains against each other is exactly what Nepal are doing with their new exhibit.  


“Give Us Back Our Gods” is an exhibition that recreates a batch of artefacts that was looted between the 1960s and 80s. Each piece has been meticulously recreated and includes a description, just like the real thing would in a museum. The collection is about to go on display in Nepal, with the one purpose. To offer each highly crafted exquisite replica as an exchange for the original, no questions asked. Now, you might think that surely the real thing is much better but remember what Machiavelli said, “A man of good character is difficult to conspire against”. Imagine the replica and the story of how upon discovering the history, the family decided to exchange the piece. The story is worth a lot more than the artefact.  


Well, we can only hope. At least the rest of us can visit Nepal any time we like in the next few months to catch a glimpse of what could have been. A mirror image of reality, but it’s the spirit that is backwards. Or is it? If the originals were intended to appeal to Gods and these new pieces are intended to appeal to the God within us, is there much difference after all? The Museum of Stolen Art is set to open in 2026. 
 
Interested in the scene? Check out this book: The Nepal Festivals:: Articles on Nepalese Art, Culture and Deities
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