New York's The Met returns 14 looted sculptures to Cambodia

July 6, 2024 7:57 AM

"Historic homecoming": New York's The Met returns 14 looted sculptures to Cambodia. The sculptures were looted from the country during a period of war and unrest and their return is like welcoming home the souls of ancestors, Cambodia's culture minister says.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (8 comments total)

glorious news! there's also a current exhibition of note at the University of Michigan: Angkor Complex
posted by HearHere at 8:27 AM on July 6

Good.
posted by dfm500 at 11:24 AM on July 6

I'm curious why homeland security and federal prosecutors are involved. Like, they are stolen, what's the investigation?
posted by Gorgik at 11:26 AM on July 6

As I recall, the law dealing with looted artifacts in the US requires the government to sue the artifact, resulting in cases with titles like “United States vs. One Tyrannosaurus Rex Skeleton”
posted by Just the one swan, actually at 2:58 PM on July 6 [7 favorites]

the law dealing with looted artifacts in the US requires the government to sue the artifact

Like so : United States v. Twenty-Nine Pre-Columbian & Colonial Artifacts From Peru.

Will the defendant please rise…..(*white gloved museum curators scramble to put 29 delicate ancient artifacts up on display stands in a hurry*)

See also United States v. $239,500 in U.S. Currency
posted by inflatablekiwi at 3:45 PM on July 6 [2 favorites]

"During a period of war and unrest" is quite a phrase for an American news outlet to use with regard to Cambodia.
posted by srboisvert at 4:07 PM on July 6 [3 favorites]

"During a period of war and unrest" is quite a phrase for an American news outlet to use with regard to Cambodia.

It's an Australian news outlet.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 7:09 PM on July 6 [3 favorites]

Yes! And recently, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford returned a statue of Tamil poet Tirumankai Alvar to India. I love these stories.
posted by bluefly at 6:05 AM on July 7 [1 favorite]