Himal Press 
Ratneshwar Temple from where the strut was stolen.
KATHMANDU: A medieval temple strut believed to have been created in the 13th or 14th century has been repatriated to Nepal nearly four decades after it was stolen from a temple in Lalitpur.
Tim Watts, the Assistant Foreign Minister of Australia, personally delivered the ancient strut, locally known as Tundal, to the Nepal government officials during his visit on Tuesday.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales returned the medieval woodcraft to Nepal after concerns were raised that 800-year-old temple strut in the gallery’s collection had been looted from the city of Patan on the outskirts of Kathmandu, according to ABC News.
The 1.3-meter intricately carved strut was reportedly stolen from the Ratneshwar temple situated in Sulima Square within the premises of Patan Durbar Square during the 1980s. Since 2000, it had been in the gallery’s possession. The temple had 16 such struts until the 1980s. However, only two remain in the temple today. The stolen struts were replaced with replicas when the temple was restored in the 1990s.
Michael Brand, director of the gallery, had told ABC News last week that AGNSW was “voluntarily” returning the carving to Nepal.
