US auction houses to return looted Khmer statues

PHNOM PENH 

The Cambodian government this week welcomed separate decisions by California’s Norton Simon Museum and renowned auctioneers Christie’s to return looted 10th-century statues to the southeast Asian country.

Christie's decision Tuesday to return a statue known as "Pandava," and Norton Simons announcement Wednesday that it would return a statue of mythical character "Bhima" come after concerted efforts byCambodia to retrieve antiquities believed to have been stolen during the turbulent 1970s.

Phay Siphan, a top government spokesman, told the Anadolu Agency he saw the return as a success forCambodia and a blow to the trade in stolen artifacts.

“We really welcome this,” Siphan said. “Those artifacts are priceless, so returning them is not just for national pride... it’s for the good of human kind.” 

Buddhist majority Cambodia, which has a rich cultural heritage influenced by Indian traditions and Hindu legends, is famed for the Angkor Wat temples, a world heritage site, and the intricate engravings of graceful traditional dancers and mythological characters adorning their walls.

Angkor, in Cambodia's northern Siem Reap province, is among Southeast Asia's most renowned archeological sites, and served as the Khmer Kingdom's seat for centuries. Stretching around 400 square kilometers, the complex houses temples, water reservoirs and communication routes that reveal the empire's high level of social order and ranking.

In the 1970s, however, many of the country’s temples were looted as the nation was first overtaken by the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge regime and then plunged into decades of bitter civil war.

Such looting, however, is not new to the temple. Enemies, namely those from neighboring Thailand - "Siam Reap" translates as "Thailand defeated" - ransacked it, it was plundered by treasure seekers, and when French colonizers brought it to Western attention in the middle of the 19th century, they tried to preserve Angkor while other Westerners began to loot it - many simply sawing off artifacts and carrying them away.

The trade in its intricately carved sandstone art began.

Recently, Cambodia began a campaign to retrieve its priceless treasures—and already the poor nation has seen several pieces returned.

Cambodia asked the Norton Simon Museum to return the “Bhima” more than a year ago, and the museum explained in a statement released Wednesday that it has now agreed to Cambodia’s request, despite refusing to fully concede the statue had been looted.

“As a gesture of friendship, and in response to a unique and compelling request by top officials inCambodia to help rebuild its “soul” as a nation, the Norton Simon has decided to make a gift of the 'Bhima' to the Kingdom of Cambodia and to its people,” the museum said.

“The Norton Simon properly acquired the 'Bhima' from a reputable art dealer in New York in 1976,” the statement continued. “However, the facts about the Bhima’s provenance prior to the dealer’s ownership are unclear because of the chaotic wartime conditions in Cambodia during the 1970s.”

The statue is believed to have been stolen from a unique grouping at the Koh Ker temple complex in western Preah Vihear province, where the large sandstone statue that Christie’s is returning also heralds. "Bhima" originally stood in a fighting posture. 

"Pandava" - which looks as if it has been hacked off at the legs - originally sat on a pedestal, just a few feet away from a 10th-century warrior statue known as "Duryodhana,” which another auction house, Sotheby's, had hoped to sell.

Koh Ker is highly revered by the Cambodian people as it is deeply significant from an artistic, religious and historical perspective.

According to The International Herald Tribune, Christie’s said Tuesday that it had found out that “Pandava” had been looted from Koh Ker and had therefore made efforts to get it back from a buyer who purchased it from the auction house in 2009 for just under US$150,000. The buyer agreed to return it and auctioneers will now repatriate the artifact toCambodia.

Cambodia first got the ball rolling when, in 2012 and with the help of the U.S. government, the country filed suit against Sotheby’s, after the institution put “Duryodhana” - valued at about US$3 million - up for sale. 

Earlier this year, with the case still ongoing, Sotheby’s agreed to return the statue.

In New York, a repatriation ceremony was held Wednesday for the statue, which will be back inCambodia shortly.

Last year, New York’s Metropolitan Museum voluntarily returned two statues—again looted from Koh Ker—toCambodia.

Buoyed by its success, Cambodia has expressed a desire to see all nine statues looted from the temple complex—the Denver Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art both have pieces taken from Koh Ker - to be returned and displayed at the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

Tess Davis, an affiliate researcher at the University of Glasgow who specializes in cultural heritage law, praised moves by both institutions to return the treasures.

“With today’s news, the Norton Simon Museum is following the Met’s lead in returning Cambodia’s stolen property. I believe this further demonstrates that no reputable institution wants war loot on display,” Davis said. 

“Moreover, I hope it also demonstrates that while an auction house is a business, it can be a responsible one. Christie’s deserves credit for its actions."

englishnews@aa.com.tr