The Norton Simon museum in the US state of California has agreed to return two 10th-century statues to Cambodia this June after displaying them for over 40 years.
The sandstone statues Duryodhana and Bhima, featuring two warriors, weigh over 100kg and stand some 1.5m high. They are believed to have been stolen from Prasat Chen temple in the Koh Ker Complex in 1972.
The Duryodjana statue was put up for auction by Sotheby's in New York in March 2011 but the sale was stopped after Cambodian authorities made an appeal through UNESCO. The second Bhima was bought back by Norton Simon museum from an antique collector in 1976.
Recently, auction house Christie’s promised to hand back another antique statue named Pandava to Cambodia. It originally auctioned the antiquity in 2009, but later made a repurchase after learning that the treasure was looted from its home country.-VNA
The sandstone statues Duryodhana and Bhima, featuring two warriors, weigh over 100kg and stand some 1.5m high. They are believed to have been stolen from Prasat Chen temple in the Koh Ker Complex in 1972.
The Duryodjana statue was put up for auction by Sotheby's in New York in March 2011 but the sale was stopped after Cambodian authorities made an appeal through UNESCO. The second Bhima was bought back by Norton Simon museum from an antique collector in 1976.
Recently, auction house Christie’s promised to hand back another antique statue named Pandava to Cambodia. It originally auctioned the antiquity in 2009, but later made a repurchase after learning that the treasure was looted from its home country.-VNA
