The Metropolitan Museum of Art has recently announced that it will return a total of 16 artifacts to Cambodia and Thailand following the objects' ties to Douglas Latchford, a British art dealer accused of smuggling stolen antiquities from Southeast Asia.
Similarly, the US attorney's office has also released a statement regarding the repatriation, confirming that Latchford was indeed indicted back in 2019 for "orchestrating a multi-year scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities on the international art market."
In the Met's release, the museum's CEO and director Max Hollein said that they have been "diligently working with Cambodia and the US Attorney's Office for years" to straighten out the issues regarding the stolen artifacts, with "new information" gathered during this process cementing the need for these objects' repatriation.
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About the Khmer Sculptures of Cambodia and Thailand
The ancient artifacts date back to the existence of the Khmer Empire between 802 to 1431 AD, comprising significant Cambodian and Thai sculptures like a bust of Buddha's head from around 600 AD and a statue of a Goddess made from sandstone dated around 900 AD. Most of the artifacts feature the deities Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Shiva, and Uma.
The Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, Phoeurng Sackona, called the return of the artifacts "an act of healing for our nation," as reported by the Thai publication The National.
She added that these repatriations are of "enormous importance to the Cambodian people," which she hopes becomes a repeated act alluding to the return of other Cambodian artifacts, be they from the Met or other collecting institutions.
The Met itself reassures that it will continue to aid in these efforts as it had done in the past. In fact, within the copy of the repatriation agreement, authorities noted that the museum reached out as early as September 2021 to show its "willingness to cooperate" with the appropriate investigations, soon after learning about Latchford's indictment.
US Attorney Damian Williams expresses his hopes for future repatriation efforts, saying, "My Office will continue to vigorously investigate the illegal trade in stolen antiquities."
He added by asking concerned institutions that may be facing similar issues to "do the right thing," saying, "Come forward and work with us on a voluntary basis to facilitate the return to the rightful owners."
