Subsequently, the NMAA published the provenance records for “Shiva Nataraja.” A volunteer-run research and repatriation initiative for looted artifacts called India Pride Project, co-founded by Vijay Kumar and Anuraag Saxena, examined the bronze's provenance records. Per the museum, there is photographic evidence of the “Shiva Nataraja” at the Sri Bhava Aushadesvara temple in Tirutturaipoondi, Tamil Nadu, dating back to 1957. “It's a well-settled matter that bronzes are property of the temple,” India Pride Project co-founder Kumar told Hyperallergic, noting that the casts are considered living gods. Both bronzes were among 1,000 objects that Arthur M. Sackler gifted from his collection to the Smithsonian in 1987 to inaugurate his namesake gallery at the NMAA. He pointed to an instance in 2022 when another “Shiva Nataraja” cast was officially been returned to the Kailasanathar temple in Tamil Nadu per a judicial magistrate court order.