Patina of the past

PHOTO: PORNPROM SATRABHAYA

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOUGLAS LATCHFORD

A connoisseur of Khmer art talks about his latest tome on the subject


9/06/2011
Sean Trembath
Bangkok Post

For decades, Douglas Latchford has immersed himself in the world of Khmer art. Twelve years ago, he and co-author Emma C Bunker set out to write the definitive titles on the subject.

In less than a month, the final volume of the series will be released. Khmer Bronzes: New Interpretations of the Past, along with 2004's Adoration and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art and 2008's Khmer Gold: Gifts for the Gods, form the most comprehensive study of Khmer art history ever published.

The 600-page tome has over 460 photographs, and compares Khmer pieces to bronzes from various other cultures of the same era.

Latchford spoke to Life about his collection of Khmer pieces, the process of finding new sculptures, and what is covered in the new book.

How did you build this collection of photographs?

Some of them are my collection, which my son took photos of. Some of them are from museums, like the Metropolitan New York or Phnom Penh museum. The other ones, in private collections, the owners provided the photographs.

How big is your personal collection? Have you catalogued it?

Not really. It's probably 80 to 100 pieces, spread out between here and London. There's some in America as well. I lend them to museums.

How do you find out about new pieces? Do you make it known that you are looking for bronzes?

A serious collector knows what is where. I've studied pieces for over 40 years. It's a matter of reading books and visiting museums. For example, every March at the Armory in New York, they have an Asia week. Collectors from all over the world gather. We all know each other. In America, there are probably half a dozen private serious collectors.

What do collectors look for in new pieces?

What is attractive to a collector is the patination [the colour of the tarnish on the bronze]. When bronzes were made, they would have all been bronze coloured. Based on what kind of soil they lay in, whether it was an acidic soil, or malachite, or iron, it would take on a bluish patina, a green patina, or a brown patina.

Which type of soil gives the best patina?

Probably an acidic soil. The acids cause the corrosion of the surface of the bronze. Also, being buried near water. Water flowing could polish the bronze over a period of time.

What happens when a new piece is found? What determines where it ends up? Is it simply an auction, with the highest bidder getting the piece?

One, it's a matter of luck. Two, it's a matter of who the finder is and who he decides to take it to. Where he thinks he'll get a better price, where he'll get a fair deal, where he'll get paid without hassle.

Are you still actively seeking pieces?

Yes, but in a small way. There's a very small supply of items coming through now. The war in Cambodia, the civil war, more or less curtailed the supply of pieces coming through. But pieces do come through from time to time, and they are sought after. There's a series of collectors both Thai and foreign here. There are about half a dozen Thais who buy seriously. They have big money and possibly get first choice.

During the civil war in Cambodia, did a lot of art get destroyed?

No. People talk about it being destroyed, but I've not seen any evidence. They talk about mass destruction of pieces in the museum, but it's not true. The museum was locked. They went in, and they may have stolen a bit of gold. I think there was some gold in the basement, and I think they broke the lock of the safe and took the gold, but the statues themselves, they didn't destroy.

Were you living in Bangkok at the time?

Yes.

How was it for you as an expert on Cambodian art?

Very disturbing. We couldn't get accurate stories about what was happened. The border closed in April '75. I was there actually, in Phnom Penh, two weeks before the Khmer Rouge came in. I was nearly kidnapped. Not nice.

Who is your writing partner, Emma Bunker?

She is a curator at the Denver Art Museum. She used to write a lot on Chinese bronzes from the steppes. We met some 30 years ago, but we lost touch with each other. I met her again about 12 years ago in New York. She said, "Why don't you do a book, with the knowledge you have and the showpieces that have hitherto been unseen?" So I said OK, and we wrote the first one.

What's the process of writing a book like this with a partner who is not here?

(He points at the telephone) Big telephone bills.

What is the structure of the book? We do it chronologically.

What are the earliest examples you show?

They go back to 300BC. Bronze was used for drums and percussion instruments. They occurred in South China, they occurred in Vietnam, and Cambodia and northeast Thailand.

Why bronze for this book as opposed to some other material?

There are three main materials, gold, bronze, and stone. In our previous two books, we did stone and we did gold, so the logical next one was bronze.

How do the bronze pieces you've studied compare to stone pieces from similar eras?

Stone was more commonly used because of the availability. They would go out to a quarry, get a chunk of stone, and make a figure, whereas bronze they would have to get the money, get the materials, get the gold, get the silver, get the tin, get the lead, get the ore. They had to have casting techniques, which were quite sophisticated for that time. There was an enormous cost.

So I imagine bronzes would tend to have been owned by the nobility?

They would have been in the possession of nobility, of major temples, and major places of worship.

Was there any point where bronze became more affordable?

No, but major bronzes would have been made for royalty, or for large shrines, whereas smaller bronzes would have probably been for home use. There were several pieces cast that would have been used as individual shrines in people's houses.

Khmer Bronzes: New Interpretations of the Past by Emma C Bunker and Douglas Latchfordwill be launched on July 1 in Bangkok.