Cambodians will go to it, if the current trial with Sotheby's for a second statue succeeds. A pair of statues of warriors, most likely, was stolen from the Cambodian temple of Koh Ker in the 1960s and '70s

Grounds with the feet of statues of soldiers, guards at the temple of Koh Ker, Cambodia
Source: chasingaphrodite.com


Digital combining sculpture of a warrior from the Norton Simon Museum of the feet and the base of the temple of Koh Ker, Cambodia
Source : chasingaphrodite.com

In early April, Government of Cambodia has filed a lawsuit against Sotheby's , requiring repatriation of Khmer warrior statues stolen from the temple of Koh Ker. In the opinion of respected archeologists, the sculpture was taken illegally from Cambodia in the 1960s and 70s. The plaintiffs argue that the auction house employees were going to put a statue up for sale despite the fact that they knew of its illegal origins. The defendants also claimed they knew nothing about when and under what circumstances a sculpture of a warrior came to America.

Who is right and who is wrong in this dispute is now the court will decide. And on its outcome will depend on the fate of another statue of a warrior. The fact is that once the entrance to the ancient temple of Koh Ker was blocked by two sculptures of soldiers guards. All that remains of them today in Cambodia - is the base of the feet. Local guides will complain about the fact that such remarkable figures are now next to the temple there. Perhaps if they had been in place, Koh Ker visited a lot more tourists. So far, travelers to him are cooler than, say, to the famous Angkor Vatu.

One of the statues came to the catalog auction at Sotheby's in last March with an estimate of 2-3 million dollars. Another statue settled in 1976 in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. The fact that these sculptures are paired - no doubt. It is also clear that these are the statues that had previously guarded Koh Ker, - enough to compare them with the grounds on which they sawed off.

This week, representatives from Cambodia, in an interview with radio station "Voice of America "was told that if the trial with Sotheby's is successful, they intend to sue because of the Norton Simon Museum of the second statue of a warrior. In addition, the Cambodians will fight for the repatriation of stolen artifacts and other.

industrialist and philanthropist Norton Simon during the creation of the collection is not much worried about the legal or illegal means to him fell Asian values. Website Chasing Aphrodite quoted saying in the collector the New York Times article in 1973: "I spent 15 to $ 16 million over the past two years to buy Asian art, and most of it was imported illegally. I do not know if it is stolen objects or not. " Today, the Foundation for the Norton Simon assured that in thirty years of ownership Khmer statue of a warrior of the ownership of it has never been put into question.

Prepared by Mary Onuchina, AI

Source: artinvestment.ru