Ancient artistic loot will finally make its way back to Cambodia

Most sculptures in Cambodia’s national museum are missing something. Surya, a sun god, recently returned from the Denver Art Museum without its arms or legs. A Hindu warrior has lost its head. Looters probably nabbed it during what Brad Gordon, an American lawyer helping Cambodia reclaim stolen statues, claims is “the biggest art theft in history”.

The plundering of Cambodian heritage was widespread and recent. Between the 1970s and 1990s the country faced a genocide and civil wars. Thieves took advantage of turmoil. Wielding shovels and pickaxes, they hacked stone gods from most of Cambodia’s 4,000 temples. American authorities allege that many statues passed through Douglas Latchford, an expert in Cambodian antiquities. He was indicted in America in 2019 for trafficking looted relics and falsifying documents (he died before facing the charges). He sold Cambodian art to rich collectors. Lots of it probably ended up in museums.

Now several artworks are being returned. The latest delivery arrives on July 3rd, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York returns 14 artefacts. The Met says this completes the removal of all of its Angkorian sculptures known to be associated with Latchford. This is the most significant delivery from the Met to Cambodia. The last time it sent back objects was in 2013, when it returned two 10th-century statues of “Kneeling Attendants”. Even so, the Cambodians say the Met has 49 more of their allegedly looted artefacts and that hundreds remain in museums elsewhere.

This is part of a broader trend. Countries across Asia, growing richer and more geopolitically powerful, are clamouring for the return of looted artefacts. Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, has said he is making restitution a big priority. Indeed in 2018 the Met returned two statues to the Indian government. (The Koh-i-Noor diamond remains in Britain, despite repeated attempts to get it back; however it was absent from the coronation of King Charles III, possibly because of its bloody history.) Nepal has also got several items back from the Met.

Tiny Cambodia stands out for its success. It claims to have brought home around 800 artefacts, from various parts of the world, in the past two decades. By contrast Tanongsak Hanwong, an archeologist, counts a handful of returns to neighbouring Thailand in the same period.

Much of Cambodia’s success can be credited to an energetic, media-savvy local team that jets off to museums to request returns. Remorseful former looters help identify objects, in return for being promised immunity from prosecution. According to Mr Gordon, Toek Tik, a former Khmer Rouge child soldier who claimed he supplied Latchford with statues, picked out many stolen pieces in Western museums, including several the Met will hand back in July.

Getting a superpower onside also helps. Investigations by American authorities helped prompt the Met to review its Cambodian statues. It also set up a team to examine objects’ provenance. American officials now seize sculptures from collectors, too.

This is not all selfless. Statues are a useful diplomatic tool. Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former leader, has thanked President Joe Biden for returning artefacts and dubbed America the “number one” country at repatriating. A State Department official says that, although “our relationship with Cambodia can be strained,” the returns are “bringing our countries together”. Cambodia’s close ties with China are one area of concern.

But restitution can also divide neighbours. Cambodia and Thailand have long contested ownership of Khmer heritage. For years troops have been stationed at Preah Vihear, a temple on the border that both countries have claimed. Some Cambodians were upset when the Met returned “Golden Boy”, an Angkorian statue with disputed origins, to Thailand in May.

The countries are united in one area—the spiritual significance of statues. In Nepal some consider worshipping a damaged idol a bad omen. For many Cambodians, statues are neak ta, meaning guardian spirits holding the souls of their ancestors. “When we lost the statues, the soul was lost,” says Huot Samnang, director of the Department of Antiquities. When Cambodian archeologists visit museums in other countries, some are moved to tears by the sight of gods wrapped in styrofoam in storerooms, or encased in glass, waiting to come home. ■