海角大神

A spectacular collection of centuries-old Cambodian jewelry has been returned to the Southeast Asian country, the latest treasures to be retrieved from the estate of well-known antiquities collector and dealer Douglas Latchford, who was accused of buying and selling looted artifacts.

Cambodia鈥檚 Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts announced Monday that 77 pieces of Cambodian jewelry from the Latchford family collection arrived back in their homeland on Friday. It said the collection included items 鈥渟uch as gold and other precious metal pieces from the Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian period including crowns, necklaces, bracelets, belts, earrings, and amulets.鈥� Angkor in the 9th to the 15th centuries was a powerful kingdom in the area of present-day Cambodia, and tourists can see its legacy at the famous Angkor Wat temple complex in the country鈥檚 northwest.

The ministry said the handover of the items involved Hun Many, a lawmaker who is the youngest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen; Cambodia鈥檚 ambassador to Britain; representatives of Britain鈥檚 Foreign Office; the Art & Antiques Unit of London鈥檚 Metropolitan Police; and the Arts Council England.

The return of the items followed a September 2020 agreement with Mr. Latchford鈥檚 family under which all Cambodian artifacts in their possession would be returned to Cambodia. Other stone and bronze artifacts were returned in September 2021.

Mr. Latchford, known as both an expert and a dealer in Cambodian and Indian antiquities, died in August 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand, where he lived for decades.

In November 2018, U.S. federal prosecutors indicted him on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and other crimes related to alleged trafficking in stolen and looted Cambodian antiquities. It accused him of creating 鈥渇alse provenances鈥� 鈥� documents about how and where the items were obtained 鈥� and 鈥渇alsified invoices and shipping documents鈥� to conceal their origins. Experts believe many or most of the items he handled were looted from Cambodia during periods of war and instability, including in the 1970s when the country was under the brutal rule of the communist Khmer Rouge.

Mr. Latchford in earlier interviews denied any involvement in smuggling or other wrongdoing. He died before he could be extradited to the United States to face charges, so the indictment against him was eventually dismissed.

After his death, at least 30 sandstone and bronze sculptures and artifacts were sent back to Cambodia from the U.S. by their owners either voluntarily or after court action. They included items held by the Denver Art Museum in Colorado.

The statement from Cambodia鈥檚 Culture Ministry quoted its minister, Dr. Phoeurng Sackona, as saying that 鈥渢he repatriation of these national treasures opens a new era of understanding and scholarship about the Angkorian empire and its significance to the world.鈥�

She encouraged 鈥減rivate individuals, museums as well as other institutions around the world that are in possession of Cambodian artifacts to cooperate with the Royal Government of Cambodia through the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts or through Cambodian embassies to return Cambodian cultural heritage objects.鈥�

鈥淲e consider such returns as a noble act, which not only demonstrates important contributions to a nation鈥檚 culture, but also contributes to the reconciliation and healing of Cambodians who went through decades of civil war and suffered tremendously from the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge genocide,鈥� it quoted her as saying.

Cambodia鈥檚 western neighbor, Thailand, has in recent decades also successfully retrieved archaeological treasures that were illegally smuggled abroad, as awareness of the theft of cultural artifacts has heightened.

The story was reported by The Associated Press.