Deepak Tolange, a filmmaker and researcher from Nepal, employed a mixed methodology in this multi-layered visual research project together with a museum team, especially Sophia Bokop, a provenance researcher in further investigation and analysis. Deepak aims to highlight the deep connection and significance of the sacred objects in Hindu communities for their very existence, life, and beliefs. Addressing the origin and provenance of the Shiva Linga sheath, the project seeks to raise public awareness regarding the loss of cultural belongings in Nepal.

The primary focus of this visual research is to find the origin and provenance of a copper-gilded, four-faced Chaturmukh Shiva Linga kosh within the collection of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin. The Shiva Linga kosh or Linga kosh is a metal cover commonly known as sheath. Invoked with prana or life energy, the consecrated kosh or sheath is both part and cover of the Shiva Linga. In addition, the project aims to reconnect, rediscover and relearn Shiva/Shiva Linga. Daily rituals and some of the major festivals related to Shiva/Shiva Linga in Nepal have also been observed.

This program is part of our exhibition – What Empire Took, What Empire Left: Museums, Borders and the Politics of Return in South Asia