Redressing Historical Wrongs: Australia Sends Back Artifacts To Cambodia

The National Gallery of Australia announced on Thursday that it will return three sculptures to Cambodia after an examination determined that they were likely illegally exported from the country.

The bronze sculptures were purchased for $1.5 million in 2011 by British art dealer Douglas Latchford, who was later convincingly implicated in the illegal trade of antiquities, according to the gallery.

Latchford died a year after being charged with trafficking in stolen and looted Cambodian artifacts in 2020. According to the gallery, charges have also been made posthumously connected to works of art he sold.

Susan Templeman, Australia’s special ambassador for the arts, stated at a handover ceremony that returning the sculptures to Cambodia was an opportunity to right a historical wrong.

She praised Cambodia’s administration for its cooperative spirit and graciousness in dealing with the situation.

The transfer was regarded as a historic occasion and an important step towards rectifying past injustices, reinforcing the value of cultural properties, and acknowledging the importance of preserving and protecting cultural heritage by Cambodia’s ambassador to Australia, Chanborey Cheunboran.

The sculptures, which include Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Padmapani, Bodhisattva Vajrapani, and Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Padmapani, will be on exhibit in Australia for up to three years while the Cambodian government works on a new home for them in Phnom Penh.

Museums around the world are returning stolen antiquities to right the wrongs done to many countries during colonial rule.

Last month, Amsterdam’s legendary Rijksmuseum promised to return hundreds of stolen Indonesian and Sri Lankan artifacts, while late last year, London’s Horniman Museum promised to return some of its treasures to Nigeria more than 100 years after they were stolen by British forces.

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