South-east Asian countries demand Denver museum return looted artefacts
Original reporting: Three Southeast Asian countries say the Denver Art Museum still holds their stolen heritage (Denver Post)
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Source: The Guardian
South-east Asian countries demand Denver museum return looted artefacts
Officials from Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand accuse the Denver Art Museum of possessing stolen antiquities and asked for return of eight pieces that were looted from temples and historical sites
Gloria Oladipo in New York
@gaoladipo
Wed 23 Aug 2023 11.00 BST
High-level government representatives from three south-east Asian countries have complained that the Denver Art Museum continues to possesses looted artefacts and are demanding them back – as stolen antiquities remain an ongoing problem in US institutions.
Officials from Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand have formally asked the Denver Art Museum (DAM) in Colorado to return eight pieces that were looted from temples and historical sites, the Denver Post first reported. The government officials notified DAM in May and June through correspondence from US investigators.
But the representatives say that DAM never responded to their letters. Moreover, the officials are aggrieved that DAM, one of the largest art museums in the country, still possesses hundreds of pieces acquired from the late Emma Bunker, a notorious art dealer who was named in criminal and civil cases for her role in smuggling artefacts, the Post reported.
Bunker, who died in 2021, was a close associate of Douglas Latchford, a disgraced art dealer who was accused of trading looted relics from Cambodia for decades.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/23/denver-museum-return-looted-cambodia-thailand-vietnam
Non-walled link: https://archive.li/PYU4O
