Looted Khmer Statues Return to Cambodia

[CEOCambodiaNews]

US returns 2 looted statues to Cambodia
Xinhua, April 4, 2020

The United States had returned to Cambodia two ancient statues after they were looted from the kingdom decades ago during the civil war, according to a joint press statement on Saturday.

The statues arrived at the Phnom Penh International Airport on Tuesday and representatives of the two countries attended a Buddhist blessing ceremony held on Friday at the National Museum.

Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona said every return of Cambodian artifacts from abroad is a testament to the fact that a full cooperative and peaceful partnership exists.

"Despite the global health emergency and fight against the COVID-19, the Khmer statues have been returned to our homeland and is a great boon to the nation," she said.

According to the statement, the first statue is an 11th century sandstone Khmer statue torso of the Khleang style wearing a Khmer sampot, a traditional garment of Cambodia.

"The antiquity expert determined the statue had a fair market value of 75,000 U.S. dollars," the statement said.

The other statue, from the 10th century, is a large gray sandstone Khmer statue torso of an unidentified Deity. Experts estimated the value of this statue at about 120,000 U.S. dollars, it said.
http://www.china.org.cn/world/2020-04/0 ... 896509.htm

[Duncan]

US returns 2 looted statues to Cambodia
Xinhua, April 4, 2020

The United States had returned to Cambodia two ancient statues after they were looted from the kingdom decades ago during the civil war, according to a joint press statement on Saturday.

The statues arrived at the Phnom Penh International Airport on Tuesday and representatives of the two countries attended a Buddhist blessing ceremony held on Friday at the National Museum.

Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona said every return of Cambodian artifacts from abroad is a testament to the fact that a full cooperative and peaceful partnership exists.

"Despite the global health emergency and fight against the COVID-19, the Khmer statues have been returned to our homeland and is a great boon to the nation," she said.

According to the statement, the first statue is an 11th century sandstone Khmer statue torso of the Khleang style wearing a Khmer sampot, a traditional garment of Cambodia.

"The antiquity expert determined the statue had a fair market value of 75,000 U.S. dollars," the statement said.

The other statue, from the 10th century, is a large gray sandstone Khmer statue torso of an unidentified Deity. Experts estimated the value of this statue at about 120,000 U.S. dollars, it said.
http://www.china.org.cn/world/2020-04/0 ... 896509.htm

And that is the reason they were sold/ bought/ stolen

Spoiler:

I doubt it

looted

Spoiler:

I doubt it

in the first place.

Why put a dollar value on something that cannot / should not be sold. Do we have ''experts '' that put a dollar value on life and freedom.

[CEOCambodiaNews]

U.S. Repatriates Two Khmer Statues to Cambodia
Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Cambodia Khmer Torso
(U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh)

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA—The Phnom Penh Post reports that the United States handed over two Cambodian statues seized by Homeland Security Investigation at a ceremony held at Cambodia’s National Museum. The first sculpture, recovered in San Francisco in 2017, is a sandstone Khmer torso dated to the eleventh century A.D. The figure is shown wearing a folded and draped piece of long, rectangular cloth known as a sompot on its lower body.
The second statue, recovered in Los Angeles in 2005, depicts the torso of an unidentified deity carved from grey sandstone. According to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia, the statues were repatriated under a memorandum of understanding signed by the governments of the two countries that is intended to reduce the plundering of Cambodia’s heritage.
https://www.archaeology.org/news/8579-2 ... ted-states

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Two historic Khmer statues returned to Cambodia
By ICE - April 10, 2020

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State and Cambodia Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, returned two Khmer statues to Cambodia during a repatriation ceremony at the National Museum of Cambodia April 3.

In 2018, Cambodia signed a historical memorandum of understanding with the United States titled “The Imposition of Import Restrictions on Categories of Archeological Material of Cambodia.” The agreement aims to reduce the incentive for the pillage of irreplaceable archaeological materials representing Cambodia’s rich cultural heritage.

“As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of U.S. – Cambodia diplomatic relations, today’s return of these two statues serves as a reminder of what our two countries have achieved together,” said U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy.

During the repatriation ceremony, the government of Cambodia presented HSI a letter of appreciation extending profound gratitude and appreciation for the agency’s assistance repatriating the two Khmer Statues.
In full: https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/2-his ... d-cambodia

[WildA]

Good job dudes.