Bangkok Post: Cambodia Wants its Looted Heritage Back

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Bangkok Post has a longish and really interesting article on looting by Ezra Kyrill Erker ("After the horrors, Cambodia looks to reclaim its heritage", 14.10.2012).

For decades, thousands of Khmer antiquities have been sold on the international art market and through major auction houses in London, New York and elsewhere, bought up by leading museums and wealthy collectors. A large portion of these artefacts came with little or no ownership history, meaning they could well have been looted from temple complexes by thieves during the country's years of political turmoil, with Cambodia powerless to stem the trade or repatriate any of the items. This year, however, things have begun to change.

The article features comments from Douglas Latchford (Bangkok-based co-author of 'Adoration and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art'). The whole text is well worth a read, as it discusses the place of the Bangkok market in the dispersal of SE Asian antiquities, and Cambodian artefacts in particular. Koh Ker is one of the cases discussed at some length.