‘The Crown Jewels Of The Angkor Empire’: Looted Jewelry Returned To Cambodia, Culture And Arts Ministry Says

Ben WhiteheadFebruary 22, 2023

Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts announced Monday that it has returned rare gold jewelry from the 9th century to Cambodia.

This stash contained 77 gold relics including necklaces and bracelets. These relics are believed to have been taken from burial grounds or ancient tombs. They have been returned to Cambodia by Douglas Latchford. Notable British art dealer accused of trafficking in looted artifacts was indicted in the United States.

“It was not in any published books. The issue now is the team here has to evaluate it and look at each piece,” Brad Gordon, legal adviser to the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts . “It’s 77 objects altogether and the [National Museum of Cambodia] did not have much in terms of gold, so this is much more than it had in its possession.”

“I keep talking to Cambodians today who were taking a look at it, and they were just so excited. They were thrilled and surprised,” He concluded.

Some of the artifacts may have been worn by early Angkorian kings in the Khmer empire in 9th century. Included Cambodia, Laos and Thailand are also included. A gold necklace with a purple gem, a gold headdress and belt, as well as a crown of hammered-gold, are some of the pieces. reported. Latchford ended up with all of them.

Cambodian researchers say they believe some of the gold adorned the earliest Angkorian kings, who founded the Khmer Empire and built its majestic temples.

📷Cambodia Ministry for Culture and Fine Art https://t.co/Bax4fMbRbE pic.twitter.com/QCoQuiyD8l

— Ticia Verveer (@ticiaverveer) February 22, 2023

The lootings likely took place between the 1970s and 2000s. The 1970s was a period of great turmoil under the communist rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge from 1975-1979. During these years, an estimated 1.7 to 2.2 million Cambodians died in what’s known as the Cambodian Genocide.

In November 2018, Latchford was indicted on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and crimes related to the trafficking and looting of Cambodian antiquities, which he denied, the Associated Press notes. Officials from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York claimed that Latchford “built a career out of the smuggling and illicit sale of priceless Cambodian antiquities.” Upon his death in August 2020 at the age of 88, the indictment was dismissed.

Latchford’s daughter made an agreement with Cambodia in September 2020, a month after her father’s death, to return various items. This jewelry, some of which was in a London warehouse, was part of that deal. Many artifacts had been returned in 2021. Additional items that have been returned to Cambodia come from the Denver Art Museum and other artifacts from the United States by their respective owners, likely because of their connection to Latchford. While some of these actions were voluntary, others were court-ordered, according to the AP.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts secretary told the Times receiving these important artifacts was “getting back the crown jewels of the Angkor Empire.” He also claimed that Cambodia didn’t know many of the items even existed, adding “This is much more than what is in our museum.”