Fine Arts Dept wants speedy return of Thai artefacts from USA
The Thai government should expedite its efforts to retrieve Thai artefacts stolen from Si Thep historical park in Phetchabun province and currently held in the United States, said Phanombootra Chandrajoti, director general of the Fine Arts Department.
“A major challenge facing Thailand, after Si Thep historical park was recognised as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in September, is to collaborate with the US in reclaiming artefacts, stolen from Si Thep more than 60 years ago, from museums in the US,” he said.
He estimated that the process would take about three years. The artefacts have been found scattered across many museums in the US, Phanombootra said, adding that they were illegally smuggled out of Thailand.
The reclamation of about ten pieces has already begun and Bangkok has received excellent cooperation from the US, through their Department of Homeland Security, the director general said, adding “It is evident that most of the museums in the US have no permits from Thailand to export the artefacts. Some of them even have falsified permits. In that case, they (the artefacts) have to be sent back unconditionally.”
Meanwhile, Tanongsak Hanwong, a sub-committee member tasked with retrieving Si Thep artefacts, mentioned that they can be found in both US and UK museums, citing a standing Buddha image in the Norton Simon Museum in the US, stating that the torso was sold to the museum on September 19, 1972 for US$210,000.
The museum’s curator then reassembled the torso with other parts in the shipment, resulting in a standing Buddha image with a height of about 2.75 meters.
Another Si Thep artefact, at the same museum, is a sandstone Phra Suriya, he said. We learned that the face was sold to the museum in December 1972 for US$175,000, while the body was sold by a London-based company for US$120,000 in April 1974, Tanongsak said.
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