Seventy-four precious Khmer cultural relics, once held by the late British art collector Douglas Latchford, have returned to Cambodia.
According to a report from China News Service, Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts announced on the 27th that the return of these relics marks another significant achievement in the country’s recent efforts to reclaim overseas cultural heritage.
It was introduced that the returned relics span periods from pre-Angkor through to the height of the Angkor Empire, including sandstone and metal sculptures as well as religious ceremonial objects. Among them, the two most valuable sandstone statues can be traced back to the early 9th century and are regarded as representative works from the formative stage of the Angkor Empire. The returned artifacts also include a sandstone Brahma head from the Kok Ker temple complex and a bronze sculpture in the Bakheng style.
The announcement stated that this batch of artifacts are not only precious works of art, but also historic witnesses to the wisdom, creativity, and spiritual beliefs of Khmer civilization.