Lawsuit Underway to Bring Illegally Traded Chinese Self-Mummified Buddhist Statue Back Home

Last year, a historical exhibition in Hungary unveiled a 1,000-year-old Buddhist statue containing a mummy of a monk that was highly likely to have been illegally obtained from a village in Fujian.

Today, the statue is the center piece of a lawsuit in the Netherlands, where it is believed to be held in the possession of Dutch national Oscar van Overeem, a collector.

The Dutch collector, who lent the statue for an exhibition in Hungary, hastily took it back to the Netherlands following demands from Chinese villagers in Yangchun Village, Fujian to have the statue repatriated after they realized where it was.

The statue is believed to be the Zhonggang patriarch, stolen from their temple, and as there are human remains inside the statue, the Chinese villagers told an Amsterdam court that under Dutch law the collector has no right to own the statue. Researchers that looked at the statue last year determined that the monk went through self-mummification, a process that involves being buried alive inside a chamber while meditating roughly 1,000 years ago.

Other things brought up in court were issues surrounding the acquirement of the statue, which was traded in Hong Kong, a location known for its illegal trade of this kind of Buddhist statues at that time (circa 1995-1996), Ecns reports. Therefore, the collector should have asked to see documents and permits, which he did not.

The judge is yet to decide whether or not more information is needed, or whether a decision can be made based on the facts presented. It is possible that another round of statements will be made first, meaning it'll be a while until we find out whether this mummy will head home to Fujian, before it hopefully goes on display for the public to see.

The result of this international dispute may have consequences for future incidents involving past relics. Beijing's Old Summer Palace, for example, was the site of many looted historical items around the world to this day.

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Photos: livescience.com