Arts & Entertainment

New York Metropolitan Museum to return 16 sculptures claimed by Cambodia and Thailand

New York, Dec 15 (EFE). – The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Met) will return 14 sculptures to Cambodia and two to Thailand, all linked to Douglas Latchford, an art collector accused of trafficking objects looted during the Cambodian civil war (1967-1975).

Latchford was indicted in 2019 on charges including smuggling, conspiracy, and wire fraud before his death in 2020. He was never convicted, but the investigation highlighted the questionable origins of the sculptures.

“The Metropolitan Museum of Art has not only recognized the significance of these 13 Khmer artifacts, which were shamelessly stolen, but has also volunteered to return them, as part of their ongoing cooperation, to their rightful owners: the People of Cambodia,” Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan said.

The Met said it will continue to exhibit some of these works, now presented as “the repatriated legacy of Cambodia and Thailand,” while preparations are made for their return.

The sculptures were made between the 9th and 14th centuries and are part of Khmer culture (the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia).

The museum previously returned two objects to Cambodia in 2013 that were also linked to Latchford.

Last year, the Met announced it would conduct an assessment of all works in its collection to determine their provenance after authorities seized dozens of antiquities to return to countries including Turkey, Egypt and Italy.

Latchford was instrumental in the expansion of art galleries in South and Southeast Asia in the 1970s and 1980s,. He donated and sold, among others, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and other prestigious institutions.

According to Cambodian authorities, many of the works the collector donated or sold to the institution were stolen. EFE

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