Sotheby’s And The Cambodian National Government Battle For Ancient Artifact

March 27th, 2012
By Sharon Wu
NYU Local

The latest art world custody battle is currently being waged between Sotheby’s in New York and the Cambodian government.

Last Saturday, Sotheby’s pulled a sculpture from an auction hours before the auction was set to take place, because Cambodia, as a country, claimed ownership.

The Cambodian government alleged that the statue was stolen from a historical site during the turbulent war years and, therefore, rightfully belongs to Cambodia. Valued at $2-3 million and estimated to be over a thousand years old, this is artifact is no light matter.

The sculpture was commissioned by Jayavarman IV, an 8th century Angkor emperor. It stands at five feet tall and weighs 250 pounds. The size and quality of the piece is directly correlated to the prestige of the person who commissioned it.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Jayavarman VII

Hungarian archeologists to lead excavation of Khmer royal seat

Budapest, December 4 (MTI) - Hungarian archeologists will lead a team excavating Koh Ker, an ancient royal seat in north-east Cambodia, one of the participants told MTI on Thursday.

The Angkorian site of Koh Ker, located 100 km northeast of Angkor itself, occupies on an area of 81 sq km in dense rainforest. It was briefly the capital of the Khmer empire between 928 and 944 under King Jayavarman IV and his son Hasavarman II. Under Jayavarman's reign, about 30 temples and many tower sanctuaries were built in the area.

The 1 million US dollar project will be carried out under a Cambodian-Hungarian cultural heritage and tourism agreement. The related declaration of intent was signed in Budapest earlier this week, said Csilla Siklodi.

The Hungarian team will carry out excavations and devise plans for making the area suitable for tourism.

The project has three main pillars: protecting the built heritage, preserving the forest and involving the residents of the four nearby villages in the work, she said

The project is being financed by former Hungarian diplomat Jozsef Zelnik, head of the Hungarian-Indochinese Society.

Koh Ker gears up for tourism

Koh Ker temple (Photo: Tales of Asia)

By Tracey Shelton and Kang Chan Amrak
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 24, November 30 — December 13, 2007

On a dusty deserted road edged with landmine warning signs, 100 km from the tourist hub of Siem Reap, the ruins of the Koh Ker temples are getting ready for visitors.

The temples have been hidden in the jungle, too far off the beaten track for most tourists, for years.

Archaeological preservation group Heritage Watch estimates that only about 2,200 visitors a year, mostly locals, come to see the secluded ruins.

But since the Apsara Authority took over control of the Koh Ker temple area this year, the dirt road to the temples has been undergoing an upgrade and preservation work on the 42 temples has begun.

The first phase of the restoration is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

The land mines are being removed by the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC).

According to Seung Kong, deputy director of Apsara Authority, workers have cleared away the vegetation and stagnant water surrounding the temple walls.

"I cannot estimate the tourist increase," Kong said, "but I am sure it will be dramatic once the area is properly renovated."

Koh Ker is located about midway between the temples of Angkor Wat and the Preah Vihear temple located near the Thai border to the north east.

Apsara's conservation boundary for the Koh Ker temple preservation area is 9km by 4km. A nearby village is also being upgraded with hotel construction, new restaurants and a large market area.

Koh Ker became the capital of the Khmer empire under Jayavarman IV from 928 to 944 AD.

The area's largest structure is Prasat Thom, a 7-tier pyramid, 40 meters high. From the top there is a striking view of surrounding jungle and the nearby mountain range of Kulen. Many smaller towers are scattered throughout the area.

The temples were first reported to the modern world by Lunet de Lajonquiere in his 1902 book Inventaire Descriptif des Monuments du Cambodge. De Lajonquiere gave vivid descriptions of the hidden temples with their imposing sculptures.

Today few sculptures remain intact, but evidence of their former glory still lies in broken pieces among the ruins.

Dougald O'Reilly, director of Heritage Watch, said almost every temple in the area has been looted.

"Up until the 1960's a fabulous Ganesha statue sat in situ at one of the temples," he said. "This has now disappeared into a private collection."

The temple area is still surrounded by scattered landmines. CMAC has been demining in the area since 2002, but the scale of the work carried out is subject to funding. The area designated for clearance is 81 hectares. CMAC manager for the area, Pring Pha Narith, said the deminers concentrate on local roads and the temple sights and expect to have those areas cleared by the end of the year.

So far 56 mine fields have been located with 1,382 mines cleared. Most were within the temple grounds. In addition 1,447,212 pieces of exploded and unexploded ordnances (UXO's) have been removed.

Landmine risk has kept most travelers away from Koh Ker for years.

Lee Baer, ultralight pilot for Wings Over Cambodia, visited the temples in 2003 by motorcycle. He said at the time there was no road to the temples, so he and his riding companion used a GPS to guide them through dense bush.

"Somewhere under the vegetation there was a pile of rocks someone built over 1,000 years ago," Baer said. "It was wild. You know you're out there. You hear a rumor about this temple - after a day of riding you stumble upon it and there's nobody there. It feels like you're the first person out there. Only a handful of Westerners knew about it."

Baer revisited the site in February 2006 when he flew over the area in his ultralight plane. He said the area was still isolated and the temples barely visible amidst the foliage.

O'Reilly said Heritage Watch is working to ensure that the anticipated influx of tourists to the temples will be good for the local community. People from surrounding villages are being trained in small business management, craft production, tourism and foreign languages. They expect to set up ox cart rides and traditional craft sales for the tourists.

Confident that a tourism increase will not spoil the appeal of the Koh Ker temples, O'Reilly said, "Undoubtedly people like to fantasize that they are discovering a spot first, but the monuments themselves are such powerful architectural statements that they will continue to draw attention as Angkor does."

Although increased tourism will pose some risks to the site, there will be increased security at the temples, he said.