Current:Home > MyInside the effort to return stolen cultural artifacts to Cambodia-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Inside the effort to return stolen cultural artifacts to Cambodia
lotradecoin top token listings View Date:2024-12-25 21:12:46
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! (28)
Related
- Hideki Matsuyama will be without regular caddie, coach after their passports and visas were stolen
- Southwest US to bake in first heat wave of season and records may fall
- Arizona police officer dies in shooting at party: 2 arrested, Gila River tribe bans dances
- IRS sues Ohio doctor whose views on COVID-19 vaccinations drew complaints
- 'Love Island UK' stars Molly-Mae Hague, Tommy Fury announce split after 5 years
- GameStop shares soar after Roaring Kitty reveals $116 million stake
- Powerball winning numbers for June 3: Jackpot rises to $185 million
- Rodeo Star Spencer Wright's 3-Year-Old Son Levi Dies After Toy Tractor Accident
- Rob Schneider seeks forgiveness from daughter Elle King after 'fat camp' claims
- After guilty verdict, Trump will appear on the ballot in the last presidential primaries of 2024
Ranking
- These six House races are ones to watch in this year’s election
- Rhys Hoskins sheds a tear, as he expected, in his return to Philly with the Brewers
- Plug-In hybrids? Why you may want to rethink this car
- MLB power rankings: Once formidable Houston Astros keep sinking in mild, mild AL West
- Collin Gosselin Says He Was Discharged from the Marines Due to Being Institutionalized by Mom Kate
- Arizona tribe temporarily bans dances after fatal shooting of police officer
- Remains of World War II soldier killed in 1944 identified, returned home to Buffalo
- Here's how much your summer cooling costs could increase as mercury rises
Recommendation
-
Beyoncé leads nominations for 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards
-
74-year-old Nebraska woman pronounced dead, found to be alive, breathing at funeral home
-
Horoscopes Today, June 1, 2024
-
Corral Fire in California has firefighters worried as climate change threatens to make fire season worse
-
Lady Gaga’s Brunette Hair Transformation Will Have You Applauding
-
NYC couple says they reeled in $100,000 in cash stuffed inside safe while magnet fishing: Finders keepers
-
3-year-old dies in what police say was random stabbing in Ohio grocery parking lot
-
No. 4 seed Evansville stuns East Carolina to reach NCAA baseball tournament super regionals