AUSTRALIA: The Australian National Gallery repatriated three bronze statues after an investigation showed they had been obtained illegally by infamous art dealer Douglas Latchford. This marks the first time the National Gallery has returned heritage artifacts and alludes to a larger global discussion of museums housing the cultural heritage of others, often through nefarious means.
The National Gallery has been working since 2014 to identify the origin of its Asian artifacts, especially their connection to disgraced antiquities trafficker Douglas Latchford. While he died in Bangkok in 2020, while the US had an indictment out for his arrest, the legacy of his stolen art continues in the repatriation of artifacts from his family and public and private institutions from around the world. In February of this year, 77 pieces of Angkor-era jewelry were returned from his collection via his daughter and British antiquities dealers.
While Cambodia is regaining some of its lost cultural heritage that was opportunistically looted during its history of upheaval, a huge loss remains in the fact that the undocumented nature of the artifacts’ discovery denies scholars the chance to properly date and categorize the findings to give a more definitive idea of life during the Angkorian era.
On July 28, an official handover ceremony was held at the National Gallery who admitted that the statues were illegally exported from their country of origin. Attending the ceremony was Cambodia’s Ambassador to Australia, Cheunboran Chanborey, who said, “In a world that often focuses on divisions, let this occasion serve as an inspiring example and the role model of international cooperation in fostering a deeper appreciation and respect for the cultural heritage that binds us all.”
The National Gallery took the statues off display in 2021 while they investigated their origins. Cambodia has agreed to lend the statues to the museum for three years until 2026.
