Thailand Welcomes Home Centuries-Old Looted Statues from NYC’s The Met

SEAToday.com, Bangkok - Two ancient statues, illegally-trafficked from Thailand in 1975, were finally returned to Thailand's National Museum on Tuesday (5/21) from the collection of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

One of the statues is a 129-centimeter bronze statue believed to depict the Hindu God Shiva, also known as the Golden Boy or Standing Shiva. Another statue is a smaller sculpture known as the Kneeling Woman. Both are estimated to be around 1,000 years old.

The Met announced last December it would return more than a dozen artifacts to Thailand and Cambodia. The decision came after discovery that the artifacts were linked to the late Douglas Latchford, an art dealer and collector accused of running a huge antiquities trafficking network out of Southeast Asia.

Thailand’s National Museum hosted a welcome-home ceremony Tuesday attended by Thai Culture Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol. On the occasion she expressed her country’s gratitude for the return of the items.