Singapore Museum Keeps Watchful Eye on Subhash Kapoor Court Case

A museum in Singapore is getting nervous about the Subhash Kapoor legal battle after the Manhattan dealer was found to have sold stolen works from India to museums and collectors around the world:

The Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) said it was monitoring court proceedings against the gallery, Art of the Past, and was ready to return any items found to have been stolen.

ACM said it had been alerted that two artefacts the museum had purchased may have been “sold illicitly” by the gallery.

A bronze sculpture of a Hindu goddess which ACM acquired in 2007 for $650,000 may have been stolen from India, the Singapore museum said in a press statement.

It added that a second artefact, a Virgin Mary and Christ altar bought in 2009 for $135,000, may have had its provenance documents — which show the item’s origins — forged by the dealer.

ACM, which is run by Singapore’s National Heritage Board (NHB), said it had bought 30 objects from Art of the Past between 1997 and 2010.

Singapore museum mulls action against US gallery (Global Post)