{"id":381533,"date":"2021-11-09T23:18:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T23:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/cambodia\/art-11092021175446.html"},"modified":"2021-11-09T23:18:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T23:18:00","slug":"stolen-khmer-art-will-return-to-cambodia-museum-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/11\/09\/stolen-khmer-art-will-return-to-cambodia-museum-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Stolen Khmer art will return to Cambodia, museum says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n
Four pieces of ancient Khmer art held for years in the collection of a U.S. museum will go back to Cambodia following news that the items were illegally sold, U.S. officials and a museum spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Dating from the 12th<\/sup> to 18th<\/sup> centuries, three of the pieces displayed at the Denver Art Museum in Colorado depict religious themes, while the fourth, a bronze bell, dates from the Iron Age, according to a civil complaint filed Monday by the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office of the Southern District of New York.<\/p>\n All will be returned to Cambodia, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office said in a statement Tuesday, adding that the museum, which had kept the objects on display, has \u201cvoluntarily relinquished possession of the antiquities\u201d purchased from late art dealer Douglas Latchford, who had procured them in Cambodia under questionable circumstances.<\/p>\n \u201cAs alleged, Douglas Latchford papered over the problematic provenance of Cambodian antiquities with falsehoods,\u201d the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office said in its statement, adding, \u201cEradicating the illegal trade in stolen antiquities requires the vigilance of all parties in the art market, especially cultural institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n