Australia Repatriates Stolen Cambodian Artefacts
Australia National Gallery is taking a significant step in the world of art restitution by returning three bronze sculptures from the 9th and 10th centuries to Cambodia. These ancient artifacts were find to be steal, and after a thorough decade-long investigation conduct by both countries to ascertain their origins, they will finally be repatriate. The Cambodian government warmly welcomes this historic decision, seeing it as a crucial move towards correcting past injustices amid the growing global demand for the return of looted cultural treasures. Historical Artefacts with Tainted Origins The three sculptures trace their roots back to the Champa Kingdom, an ancient civilization that once thrived in the territories of present-day Vietnam and Cambodia. The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) acquired these works in 2011 from the notorious British art smuggler Douglas Latchford, who passed away in 2020. The NGA had reason to believe that Latchford was involve in illegal…