Cambodia Celebrates Return of Artifacts From New York's Met

Cambodia Celebrates Return of Artifacts From New York's Met
Updated Aug 22, 2024 at 9:49 AM EDT
Cambodia is celebrating the return of dozens of precious artifacts from museums and private collectors from all over the world.
The items include important Hindu and Buddhist masterpieces from the 9th to 14th century Angkor period and earlier, "especially priceless stone statues such as a mythical warrior from the Hindu epic Mahabharata, statues of Shiva and Parvati, and the statue of Ardhanarishvara from the ancient capital of Koh Ker," according to a statement by Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

The statement said: "A total of 70 Khmer cultural objects have been returned through a range of different processes, including voluntary returns, negotiations, seizures and legal proceedings, from different collections such as from the Lindemann family, Jim Clark, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and other private collectors in the United States."

Cambodia's Prime Minister, Hun Manet, said the 70 statues have symbolically reunited the country's people with their ancestral souls, The Associated Press reported.
They have now been displayed at the Peace Palace, the seat of the country's government.


Many of the pieces were looted during a long period of civil war and instability while Cambodia was ruled by the brutal communist Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.

Statues displayed during a ceremony for the return of artifacts at Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 AKP via AP
The items that came from the New York museum were bought and trafficked by well-known art dealer Douglas Latchford, who was indicted in 2019 for allegedly orchestrating a multiyear scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities on the international art market. Latchford, who died the following year, had denied any involvement in smuggling.

A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia said its government "has facilitated the return of over 150 antiquities, including previous returns of the Hindu elephant god Ganesh statue and the 10th century 'Skanda on a Peacock,' both on display at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh."

It added: "The United States is a committed and reliable partner for protecting the cultural heritage of Cambodia."
The embassy's Chargé d'Affaires, Bridgette Walker, who attended the ceremony, said: "Returning looted artifacts to their rightful home is the right thing to do."


Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, front, prays before a statue with Culture and Fine Arts Minister Phoeurng Sackona, right, during a ceremony for the return of artifacts in Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday,...
AKP via AP
Manet said that from 1996 until last month, 1,098 artifacts had been returned to Cambodia, 571 from private collections and 527 from foreign institutions and governments.
Manet added that more artifacts will be returned.

Cambodia is one of several countries in recent decades to have had numerous archaeological treasures returned to them.

They include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen in turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe.
Cambodian-U. S. relations are often strained, mainly because of Washington's criticism of alleged political repression and human rights violations by Cambodia's government.
:- https://www.newsweek.com/cambodia-celebrates-return-artifacts-new-york-met-1942871