A priceless gold-tone portrait of Rabindranath Tagore by the American ethnologist and photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis has made its way from a private collection in the US to Tagore's homeland, only to find itself forsaken.

The portrait, couriered to Calcutta by collector Forrest Hopkins as a donation to the Rabindra Bharati Museum in Jorasanko, has been lying unclaimed in a DHL warehouse since August because the recipients of this legacy won't pay the import duty of $2,600 (around Rs 1.73 lakh).

A disappointed Hopkins wants the portrait back but Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) allegedly hasn't responded to requests to sign the release form that courier DHL needs to ship it back to the US.

"I emailed them that I wanted to cancel the transaction and have the photograph shipped back to the US, but the museum has refused to sign the release document," Hopkins told Metro from San Antonio, Texas.

"I really did want this photograph to end up in India - that is where it belongs," he said.

The portrait had been serendipitously discovered by Hopkins's wife Sandra J. Smith decades ago. An artist, textile designer, weaver and collector, Sandra had spotted the portrait of Tagore "on the floor in a box in a dusty corner of an antique shop and bought it for something like $7".

The glass plate with a print on emulsion was kept in a cardboard box and remained like that for many years until Sandra and her husband realised its worth on consulting the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin, the premier academic institution for preservation and research of vintage books and photographs.

Curtis (1868-1952), the man behind the striking portrait, is best known for his many photographs of American Indians. He had a portrait studio in Seattle, Washington, where most of his works were shot. "In 1916, on his way to a visit to Japan, Tagore had met Curtis, who then took his portrait," Hopkins said.

Curtis's signature gold tone, also called Orotone, is a photographic positive printed directly on a glass plate pre-coated with a silver gelatin emulsion. After exposure and development, the emulsion is coated with lacquer impregnated with bronze, silver and/or gold metallic pigment to create a gold-toned reflective or light transmitting photograph on glass.

Hopkins and his wife had the portrait placed in a heavy frame and a heavy-duty mat to protect it. It has never been displayed. "The Ransom Center was interested in purchasing the photograph but we decided to keep it," Hopkins said.

Sandra passed away in 2011 and it was then that Hopkins decided to donate "the photograph to an appropriate museum in India so that people can view it in the proper setting and environment".

Based on information available on the Web and recommendations from friends, he wrote an email to the curator of Rabindra Bharati Museum, Indrani Ghosh, last January. "There was some delay initially, but she replied in March that the museum was enthusiastic about receiving the photograph," Hopkins recounted.

"As pledged in my initial offer of donation, I paid for the cost of the art packaging and shipping to India. The shipment reached on August 4 and I sent emails to the parties (curator, registrar and VC), alerting them about it."

When he didn't get any response from the RBU, Hopkins found out from DHL that the consignee had refused to accept the shipment because of the import duty on the item.

If neither the sender nor the consignee reimburses the import duty that DHL has already paid, the portrait would have to be abandoned or destroyed, officials of the courier company have informed Hopkins.

On September 3, Hopkins received an email from curator Ghosh indicating that the museum would contact Customs the next day and that she would email him the outcome of that meeting.

"I never heard from her again or from any other museum official despite sending several emails," Hopkins said. "Two weeks ago, the courier company informed me that they were closing the file."

When Metro contacted Ghosh on Tuesday, she texted: "The matter is still under process. If any new development happens I shall inform you immediately."

She called later to say: "The university is very eager, very enthusiastic about this gift. But the amount charged is too high and the university cannot afford it. We have contacted Customs officials several times, spoken to the high commissioner also, but so far no solution has been reached."

Asked why RBU hadn't kept Hopkins informed about these developments, Ghosh declined to comment.