Cambodia’s stolen art sent home

Lost art from Cambodia found - 20th March 2023

Recently, a big collection of gold, statues and jewellery was found. The beautiful pieces of art were taken from Cambodia by a British man, Douglas Latchford.

The collection has shocked experts. It included 77 pieces of gold and jewellery, from the 7th and 11th centuries. The art was removed from temples in Cambodia, from the Angkor empire. The examples show how rich the country was.

The items were sent abroad by Latchford and many pieces were kept by him. As a specialist, in 2008 he wrote a book on Cambodian art which included many of the ancient items. This book was a kind of advertising brochure. Customers paid high prices for the items. But the book informed others about the collection too. Some of the pictures matched missing objects. This important information was passed on to the US government.

Latchford died in 2020, before he was punished for his crimes. After his death, his family promised to give back all the antiques. They're now at a Phnom Penh museum, where they'll soon be shown to the public.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian government believes many stolen pieces are still missing. Some are sitting in well-known London museums. The size of the crime is becoming clear.