PUBLISHED: 23 May 2024 at 04: 59
On Wednesday, thousands of Thais and foreigners flocked to the National Museum in Bangkok to view the 900-year-old” Golden Boy” monument, which had lately been repatriated after being smuggled out of the country by famous artwork dealer Douglas Latchford in 1975.
A bronze statue of a standing woman from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States was transported back to the country on Tuesday.
Believed to have been cast over 900 years before, the Golden Boy was in the Met’s hands from 1988 to 2023. Next December, the gallery agreed to return both figures to Thailand, as well as 14 objects to Cambodia.
After being able to establish the connection between the past and Latchford, who was in charge of running a significant network that snatched treasures from all over Southeast Asia in 2019, the former was finally released.
The Golden Boy was discovered in Ban Yang Pongsadao community in tambon Ta Chong in Buri Ram’s Lahan Sai area, according to Latchford’s ebooks Khmer Bronzes and Khmer Gold.
The Lop Buri Art Room’s second floors, located inside the Mahasurasinghanat Building, is where the two documents are located. The museum has already attracted a lot of attention.
A larger brass statue, which is thought to be that of King Surayavaraman I, was even taken from the Phimai National Museum to be displayed alongside the two new products, which is thought to be from the construction page of Prasat Sa Kamphaeng Yai in Sri Sa Ket and bears a significant resemblance to the Golden Boy.
The entrance fee for the exhibition is 30 baht for Thais and 200 rmb for foreign nationals. The museum is open daily from 9am to 4pm.
According to Radklao Inthawong Suwankiri, a deputy state spokeswoman, the cabinet approved the returning of 20 highly prized items to Cambodia in accordance with the memorandum of understanding between the two nations to strengthen diplomatic ties.
These were one of 43 illegally brought objects into the country in 2000.
In 2009 and 2015, a total of 23 documents were returned to Cambodia, while the remainder were subject to verification before receiving approval for a return there.