Country rules · India · artifacts
India: artifacts
Export of antiquities (over 100 years old) is prohibited except by the central government; dealers must be licensed.
India allows private ownership but controls export. Export of antiquities (over 100 years old) is prohibited except by the central government; dealers must be licensed. Governing law: Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972 (1972). Stratum asks for the export paperwork reference before the piece is listed.
The United States restricts import of India archaeological material of 1700000 BCE – 1770 CE and ethnological material c. 2nd c. BCE–1947, coins included under the CPIA (CBP Dec. 25-09, restricted since 2025). Entry needs the export certificate or proof the object left India before 2025. Domestic resale of material already lawfully in the US is not restricted by this, but the paper is what a buyer will ask for.
US courts have applied foreign patrimony laws through the National Stolen Property Act (United States v. McClain, 1977; United States v. Schultz, 2003): an object exported after a clear vesting law can be stolen property in the United States even when no US import restriction existed at the time. The date of the earliest document that places an object outside India is therefore the single most valuable fact on its record.
Sources
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "India: artifacts" (Law & ethics). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-20. https://stratum.black/strata/law/archaeology-india. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-archaeology-india,
title = {India: artifacts},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/law/archaeology-india}},
year = {2026},
note = {Law & ethics article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-20; sources: stratum. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.