Cambodia’s stolen art sent home

Looted Cambodian treasure sent home - 20th March 2023

A priceless collection of Cambodian treasure, including gold belts, imperial statues and ancient artefacts, recently resurfaced in the UK, after being found in the hands of a British art dealer and smuggler.

The nature of the hoard stunned archaeologists, as it comprised 77 gold and bejewelled items stemming from the 7th and 11th centuries, including a distinctive gold rice bowl. Sonetra Seng, an expert in temple carvings, stated, "The jewellery proves what was on the carvings and what was rumoured is really true. Cambodia was really, really rich in the past."

Countless relics from the country's Angkor empire were extracted from temple grounds and smuggled out during France's colonisation and then again in the tumultuous era of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.

The antique dealer who stole this collection, Douglas Latchford, co-authored a book on some of the items in 2008, secretly exploiting the publication as a sales brochure for prospective clients.

Khmer antiquities specialist Ashley Thompson said, "Inviting other scholars to contribute and comparing the items to museum pieces was a way of validating them", indicating that the publication allowed Latchford to enhance the value of the works of art.

Ultimately, the publication tipped the experts off after they recognised that several of the printed images matched smuggled artefacts, prompting archaeologists to alert the US authorities.

Latchford died in 2020 prior to being prosecuted and in the wake of his death, his family revealed they would be rehoming the cultural treasures. Many previously smuggled artefacts were covertly returned last year and are soon to be exhibited in the national museum of Phnom Penh.

In spite of this, the Cambodian government is wary of celebrating prematurely, as it suspects an abundance of looted Angkorian treasure remains at large. Email evidence has come to light which reveals that up until 2019 Latchford had been trafficking stolen antiquities from a North London warehouse.

The BBC has also interviewed looters in Cambodia who provided particulars of items taken. Those descriptions corresponded with artefacts now owned by respectable establishments, such as the London-based British Museum and the V & A.