The Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned 14 sculptures looted from Cambodia during periods of war and unrest. These artifacts, created between the 9th and 14th centuries during the Angkorian period, reflect the Hindu and Buddhist religious systems of the time. They arrived in Phnom Penh on Wednesday and were displayed at the National Museum in Cambodia’s capital on Thursday.
The repatriation, described by Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts as a “historic homecoming of national treasures,” was the result of years of negotiations involving Cambodia’s art restitution team, U.S. federal prosecutors in New York, investigators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Met. Cambodian Culture Minister Phoeurng Sackona emphasized the importance of these artifacts in recalling the heritage of their ancestors and contributing to the reconciliation and healing of the Cambodian people after decades of civil war and the Khmer Rouge regime’s atrocities.
The returned pieces were looted during Cambodia’s tumultuous civil war period, including the Khmer Rouge regime’s rule in the 1970s. They were trafficked by art dealer Douglas Latchford, who was indicted in 2019 for his role in selling looted Cambodian antiquities. Latchford, who died in 2020, had denied involvement in smuggling.
Among the notable returned artifacts are a 10th-century stone sculpture of the goddess Uma and a 10th-century bronze head of the deity Avalokiteshvara. The Uma statue, originally from Koh Ker, will be restored by reuniting it with its foot, already in Cambodia’s possession. The Avalokiteshvara head will be reunited with its matching torso at the National Museum of Cambodia.
The ceremony in Phnom Penh featured Buddhist monks chanting blessings and throwing flowers, symbolizing the artifacts’ spiritual and cultural significance to the Cambodian people. This repatriation reflects a broader effort to return art and archaeological treasures to their homelands, including items lost or stolen from other regions affected by conflict.