BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s National Museum hosted a welcome-home ceremony Tuesday for two ancient statues that were illegally trafficked from Thailand by a British collector of antiquities and were returned from the collection of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The objects -- a tall bronze figure called the “Standing Shiva” or the “Golden Boy” and a smaller sculpture called “Kneeling Female” -- are thought to be around 1,000 years old.
This most recent repatriation of artwork comes as many museums in the U.S. and Europe reckon with collections that contain objects looted from Asia, Africa and other places during centuries of colonialism or in times of upheaval.
The Metropolitan Museum had announced last December that it would return more than a dozen artifacts to Thailand and Cambodia after they were linked to the late Douglas Latchford, an art dealer and collector accused of running a huge antiquities trafficking network out of Southeast Asia.
Emma Hayes' first roster as coach of the US women's team includes 2 first
China Has Nearly 300 Million Students in 2021
In Pics: Opening Ceremony of 2022 Winter Paralympics
China to Launch TCM Pilot Projects on Myopia Prevention
Cristiano Ronaldo to lead Portugal into record sixth European Championship
In Pics: Opening Ceremony of Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games
Beijing Winter Olympic Medals Pass Acceptance Test
In Pics: Opening Ceremony of Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games
Slovak Parliament votes to condemn political violence after assassination attempt on prime minister
2nd Chinese People's Police Day Marked Across China
Microsoft's AI chatbot will remember everything you do on a PC
Special Train Helps Migrant Workers in Guizhou Return to Work