From Jungle to Museum and Back?

May 15, 2013
The New York Times

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s recent decision to return two statues to Cambodia may put pressure on other museums that own works said to be from the same 10th-century Khmer temple, Prasat Chen. Cambodian officials and scholars from the French School of Asian Studies in Paris have tracked down six statues that they believe were looted from the temple, part of the archaeological site Koh Ker, and ended up in the United States. Officials believe the works were stolen during Cambodia’s years of upheaval, from 1970 to 1990.

PHOTO CREDITS: TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; JTB PHOTO COMMUNICATIONS/AGEFOTOSTOCK; THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK; NORTON SIMON ART FOUNDATION; U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES; DENVER ART MUSEUM; PRASAT CHEN DIAGRAM BASED ON H. PARMENTIER, “L’ART KHMÈR CLASSIQUE”