Phnom Penh-Cambodia. A collection of ancient jewellery that had been stolen from Cambodia was returned. This was announced on Monday by Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.
The ancient jewellery is from the Angkor kingdom that ruled Cambodia from the 9th to the 15th century. In particular, they included crowns, necklaces, bracelets, belts, earrings and amulets made of gold and other metals.
It is worth noting that many of these items have never been seen by the public before, the ministry said.
“The repatriation of these national treasures opens up a new era of understanding and scholarship about the Angori Empire and its importance to the world.” This was said in a statement by Dr Phoeurng Sackona, minister of Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.
The jewels were the last goods recovered from the estate of British collector and antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford.
A specialist in Cambodian and Indian antiquities, Latchford. He supplied auction houses, art dealers and museums around the world with Cambodian antiquities from the Khmer Empire. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, since the 1970s.
In November 2019, US federal prosecutors filed charges against Latchford. Specifically bank fraud, smuggling and conspiracy related to the alleged trafficking of stolen and looted Cambodian antiquities.
Latchford is accused of creating false documents to conceal the illegal origin of the items. Including provenance information, invoices and shipping documents.
Some of the items were stolen from Cambodia during periods of unrest. Such as during the 1970s under Khmer Rouge rule, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
He died in August 2020 at the age of 88 and thus the indictment against him was later dismissed.
But leaked documents as part of the Pandora Papers revealed how Latsford used offshore trusts to conceal information about his seniority.
After his death, Latchford's daughter, Naupan Kriangshak, who had inherited his collection, said she would return all the Cambodian artifacts to the country's national museum in Phnom Penh.
“In recent years, a that the best way to deal with this legacy would be to give all Khmer art, regardless of its origin, to the Cambodian people,” she said in a statement to CNN.
According to the New York Times, the monetary value of the Latchford collection is approximately $50 million.
In particular, in August 2022, the US Attorney's Office announced the return of 30 looted antiquities to Cambodia. These included two 10th century sculptures removed from the ancient Khmer capital Koh Ker.
The recent return of this jewellery collection was a team effort, spearheaded by Cambodian lawmaker Hun Many. It is worth noting that he is the youngest son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Se.
The delivery of the goods took place on 17 February in the presence of many of the contributors to the effort. Minister of Culture Sackona encouraged individuals, museums and other institutions holding Cambodian cultural heritage objects to return them to their home country.
“We consider such returns to be unquestionably a noble act, which not only demonstrates important contributions to a nation's culture, but also contributes to reconciliation and healing for Cambodians who have endured decades of civil war and suffered terribly from the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge genocide,” he said.
He also said, “The ministry will continue to seek and bring back to Cambodia its national treasures for the benefit of the Cambodian people and the world.”.
Source: nationaljeweler.com
