BANGKOK (AP) 鈥 Thailand's 好色tv Museum hosted a welcome-home ceremony Tuesday for two ancient statues that were illegally trafficked from Thailand by a British collector of antiquities and were returned from the collection of New York鈥檚 Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The objects 鈥 a tall bronze figure called the Standing Shiva or Golden Boy and a smaller sculpture called Kneeling Female 鈥 are thought to be around 1,000 years old.
This most recent repatriation of artwork comes as many museums in the U.S. and Europe reckon with collections that contain objects looted from Asia, Africa and other places during centuries of colonialism or in times of upheaval.
The Metropolitan Museum had announced last December that it would return more than a dozen artifacts to Thailand and Cambodia after they were linked to the late Douglas Latchford, an art dealer and collector accused of running a huge antiquities trafficking network out of Southeast Asia.
He was indicted in the United States in 2019 for allegedly orchestrating a long-running scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities on the international art market. Latchford, who died the following year, had denied any involvement in smuggling.
Speaking at Tuesday's ceremony, the Metropolitan鈥檚 curator of Asian and Southeast Asian art, John Guy, called the returned works 鈥渦nrivalled masterpieces鈥 of their period and said the handover was 鈥渁 very meaningful moment to recognize the importance of the art of Thailand in world culture.鈥
鈥淭he Met initiated the return of these two objects after reviewing information and established that the works rightly belonged to the Kingdom of Thailand,鈥 he said.
鈥淭his return followed the launch of the Metropolitan鈥檚 Cultural Property Initiative last year, an initiative driven by the Met鈥檚 commitment to the responsible collecting of antiquities and to the shared stewardship of the world鈥檚 cultural heritage,鈥 Guy told his audience in Bangkok.
Thai Culture Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol expressed her country鈥檚 gratitude for the return of the items.
"These artifacts that Thailand has received from the Met are the national assets of all Thais,鈥 she said.
Last month, the Metropolitan Museum signed a memorandum of understanding in New York with Thailand 鈥渇ormalizing a shared commitment to collaborate on exchanges of art, expertise, and the display and study of Thai art.鈥
The statement also explained that the museum had recently tackled the controversial issue of cultural property and how it was obtained.
It said its measures include 鈥渁 focused review of works in the collection; hiring provenance researchers to join the many researchers and curators already doing this work at the Museum; further engaging staff and trustees; and using The Met鈥檚 platform to support and contribute to public discourse on this topic.鈥
