In 1964, documents that were on display at the San Francisco Museum were reportedly smuggled out of Thailand.
PUBLISHED: 1 May 2025 at 18: 16
According to Phnombootra Chandrajoti, director-general of the the Fine Arts Department, the United States may return four carvings that are thought to have been taken from Prasat Hin Khao Plai Bat II in Buri Ram to Thailand.
He claimed that the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco had removed the four things from its products on April 26 after receiving a notification from a Homeland Security Investigations agent in the US that they could be repatriated.
Three Bodhisattva sculptures and a Buddha statue were among the numerous artifacts found in Buri Ram’s Prakhon Chai area and smuggled out of the region in 1964, along with three others. They are now known as the Prakhon Chai artworks.
Evidence suggests that Douglas Latchford, an American art trader who passed away in Bangkok in 2020, excavated the carvings from Prasat Hin Khao Plai Bat II on Plai Bat Mountain, according to Mr. Phnombootra.
A division committee looking into the Prakhon Chai documents learned that they were in San Francisco and contacted HSI analyst David Keller to assist them in 2017.
The gallery acknowledged that Mr. Keller’s testimony was the result of a smuggled-out smuggled out of Thailand. The gallery’s decision to remove the products from its supply came after a months-long investigation and gathering public input.
Four 3, 000-year-old Ban Chiang objects, including a ring and two circular beads, were returned to Thailand in November last year by the US.
The” Golden Boy,” or standing Shiva, and a kneeling woman were also returned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in May of last year.
( Fine Arts Department photos )
