Current:Home > ScamsInside the effort to return stolen cultural artifacts to Cambodia-VaTradeCoin
Inside the effort to return stolen cultural artifacts to Cambodia
lotradecoin integration View Date:2024-12-25 23:02:04
It was Hollywood that turned the temple complex around Angkor Wat into an ultra-famous location, but the Cambodian site is so much more than a movie set. For nine hundred years, it has been a wonder of history, religion and art.
It's also the site of an epic theft. Thousands of people visit the temple every day, but look closely at some of the lesser-known parts of the complex, and you'll notice vital statues of Hindu gods and Buddhas are missing.
In the decades of lawlessness following Cambodia's civil war, which raged from 1967 to 1975 and left hundreds of thousands of people dead, looters raided these sites and made off with the priceless artifacts. Many have ended up in private collections and museums.
American lawyer Brad Gordon said he is on a mission to track down these irreplacable items.
"Many of these statues have spiritual qualities, and the Cambodians regard them as their ancestors," Gordon said."They believe that they're living."
In one case, a man named Toek Tik, code-named Lion, revealed to Gordon and a team of archaeologists that he had stolen a statue from a temple. Lion died in 2021, but first, he led Gordon and the archaeology team to the temple he'd robbed in 1997. There, Gordon and his team found a pedestal and the fragment of a foot, which led the experts to confirm that Lion had stolen the statue "Standing Female Deity."
Now, that statue lives in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
"We have his confirmation, and then we have a French archaeologist who uses 3D imaging. And he's been able to match the body at the Met to the foot that's here," Gordon said. The museum returned two Cambodian sculptures, known as the Kneeling Attendants, in 2013, but Gordon said they're not budging on the matter of "Standing Female Deity."
"The Met has been very difficult," Gordon said. The museum did not respond to a request for comment from CBS News.
Gordon said that he isn't giving up on bringing the statue home.
"At the moment we have been working with the U.S. Government - providing them information on the collection," Gordon explained. "And the U.S. Government has their own investigation going on. If it doesn't work out to our satisfaction, we are confident we can bring civil action."
Other museums and collectors have cooperated, Gordon said, and so the looted pieces have been trickling back to Cambodia. As recently as March, a trove of pieces were returned by a collector in the United Kingdom who'd inherited the pieces and decided giving them back was the only ethical choice.
"Some museums are actually contacting us now and saying, 'Hey, we don't want to have stolen objects. Would you review our collection... If you want any of them back, please just tell us,'" Gordon said.
- In:
- Museums
- Art
- Looting
- Cambodia
Elizabeth Palmer has been a CBS News correspondent since August 2000. She has been based in London since late 2003, after having been based in Moscow (2000-03). Palmer reports primarily for the "CBS Evening News."
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Dropping Hints
- When a white supremacist threatened an Iraqi DEI coordinator in Maine, he fled the state
- Sophie Turner and Aristocrat Peregrine Pearson Just Hit a Major Relationship Milestone
- Gossip Girl Alum Ed Westwick Engaged to Amy Jackson
- Wisconsin kayaker who faked his death and fled to Eastern Europe is in custody, online records show
- Kourtney Kardashian posts first look at new baby: See the photo
- AP PHOTOS: As Carnival opens, Venice honors native son Marco Polo on 700th anniversary of his death
- Tax season 2024 opens Monday. What to know about filing early, refunds and more.
- Video shows drone spotted in New Jersey sky as FBI says it is investigating
- French police asked for extra pay during Paris Olympics. They will get bonuses of up to $2,000
Ranking
- Shanghai bear cub Junjun becomes breakout star
- Toyota group plant raided in test cheating probe as automaker says it sold 11.2M vehicles in 2023
- 2 Democratic-leaning Michigan House districts to hold special election primaries
- Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane possibly spotted in the Pacific by exploration team
- The Voice Season 26 Crowns a New Winner
- 2 climate activists arrested after throwing soup at Mona Lisa in Paris
- Venezuelan opposition candidate blocked by court calls it ‘judicial criminality,’ won’t abandon race
- Massachusetts man arrested for allegedly threatening Jewish community members and to bomb synagogues
Recommendation
-
Stock market today: Asian stocks are mixed ahead of key US inflation data
-
Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane possibly spotted in the Pacific by exploration team
-
The Best Jewelry Organizers on Amazon To Store & Display Your Collection
-
In gridlocked Congress, unlikely issue of cellphones in schools forges bipartisan bonds
-
'The Voice' Season 26 finale: Coach Michael Bublé scores victory with Sofronio Vasquez
-
A Palestinian is killed while with a group waving a white flag. Israel says it will look into it
-
Rise and shine: Japanese moon probe back to work after sun reaches its solar panels
-
South Africa’s ruling ANC suspends former president Zuma for backing a new party in elections