The United States has returned 40 wooden artefacts to Nepal.

Nepal’s embassy in Washington DC said the artefacts dating back to the 19th-20th century were illegally exported from Nepal and confiscated in Honolulu, Hawaii by the United States Customs and Border Protection on August 18, 2010.

The government had officially requested the United States government to return the artefacts to Nepal in 2011.

The trove of the artefacts handed over to the embassy includes a total of 39 engraved and painted wooden panels and a carved wooden shrine.

These artefacts signify various aspects of Lord Buddha’s life and his teachings as well as the Buddhist religious and cultural values and practices.

The artefacts will be sent to the Department of Archaeology of Nepal as soon as possible, the embassy said.

Prior to this, the embassy had sent seven artefacts– stone statues of Uma Mahesvara, Chaturmukh Shivlinga, Nagaraja, Padmanpani and Shakyamuni Buddha– to Nepal on May 18, 2022; and a wooden statue of Nritya Devi and standing stone statue of Lord Buddha on April 28, 2023.

As part of its efforts to recover and repatriate the lost and stolen heritages of Nepal, the embassy has been actively engaged with the relevant agencies of the governments of Nepal and the United States, reads the statement.