Chennai: When Asia Week New York launches its ten-day extravaganza on March 9, many of the top-tier galleries will showcase contemporary work alongside classical objects, while others will be devoted solely to present-day works of art, in New York according to a release from the organisers.
What it failed to mention is that Subash Chandra Kapoor — a prominent art dealer and international idol smuggler who ran Art of the Past, Manhattan will not be participating in it.
The onetime Asia Week exhibitor, Subash Chandra Kapoor, is cooling his heels in Puzhal Prison here ever since Idol Wing sleuths extradited him to Chennai from Frankfurt in 2011.
Subash Chandra Kapoor is a second-generation art dealer. His father Parshotam Ram Kapoor too dealt with rare artefacts in early 50’s.
Subash’s notoriety came to light after his role was established in the idol heists from the State. He had pulled off the heists and smuggled atleast 36 ancient idols mostly belonging to the Chola period. He managed to ship 27 idols from the lot to his art gallery, and emerged as the kingpin of the international racket.
The racket primarily involved in removing the traces of rich culture through smuggling antiques from ancient temples through his studious research.
His contacts in India, Pakistan, Dubai, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangkok are well established.
Investigations revealed that he had used his wide network of museum curators and dealers to source, transport, and sell antique items of art value especially idols using forged documents.
“This year more than 50 vendors are participating - the most ever - but organisers are still mindful that a year ago, federal officials and the Manhattan district attorney’s office raided several dealers during a crackdown on antiquities smuggling.
They seized eight items and later charged one of the Asian art market’s leading figures with trafficking in stolen goods. Last year’s seizures were a setback for the festival, for which reported sales dropped to $130 million, from $360 million the year before.
Agents from Homeland Security Investigations confiscated two items from Christie’s after linking them to a long time Manhattan Asian art dealer, Subhash Kapoor, who the authorities have said ran the largest antiquities smuggling network to operate in the United States”, an excerpt from an article published in The New York Times read.
