MUMBAI: The state government on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with London's Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum to get the famed wagh nakh, or a knuckle duster that resembles a tiger's claws, that is thought to have been used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to kill Afzal Khan.
Cultural affairs minister Sudhir Mungantiwar was in London to sign the MoU. The V&A Museum said in a statement that the formalities would soon be completed and based on current timelines, the tiger claws would travel to India by June.
The MoU set out the details of a three-year loan agreement for a "unique pair of tiger claws in the V&A collection", said the V&A in the statement. Industries Minister Uday Samant was also present at the signing.
"The partners expect to finalise the formal loan agreement this year before it is submitted to Arts Council England for approval (ACE is responsible for approving loan agreements for UK national collections to museums worldwide). Based on this timeline, the expectation is that the tiger claws would travel to India by June next year. The V&A has a long-standing relationship with CSMVS, Mumbai, and it is expected that CSMVS will provide support on managing the loan agreement and display in India," the V&A said.
According to a government resolution issued this week by the cultural affairs department, the V&A Museum is giving the wagh nakh to the state on loan for three years. Mungantiwar had said that the wagh nakh will be brought to the city in November this year.
The wagh nakh is set to be displayed in four museums, namely, the Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum in Satara, the Central Museum in Nagpur, the Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Kolhapur and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) in Mumbai.