Buddha statute with mummified monk inside recalled from Budapest museum

Budapest, March 21 (MTI) – A Buddha statue found to contain the 900-year-old mummified remains of a monk has been recalled by its owner from an exhibit in the Hungarian National History Museum, the museum’s spokesperson told MTI on Saturday.

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Monika Kiss-Stefan confirmed that the owner had the statue removed on Friday, without explanation. Under the lending contract, the owner may recall the object at any time, she added.

The removal came around the same time reports in the Chinese press suggested the statue may have been stolen from a temple in Fujian province in 1995. A paper in the province said local officials will seek the statue’s return if the suspicions prove correct.

The statue, which was acquired by a private collector in the Netherlands in 1996, was to have been on display in the Natural History Museum’s “Mummy World” exhibit until May 17.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters-articles