The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) will repatriate three looted bronze sculptures to Cambodia, following a decade-long investigation. Cambodian ambassador Dr. Chanborey Cheunboran declared: “this is an historic occasion and an important step towards rectifying past injustices, reinforcing the value of cultural properties, and acknowledging the importance of preserving and protecting cultural heritage.”

The three bronzes are called Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Padmapani, Bodhisattva Vajrapani, and Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Padmapani. They were made between the 9th and 10th centuries in the Champa Kingdom, which once inhabited Vietnam and parts of Cambodia. Experts believe looters dug them up from a field in Tboung Khmum in 1994 before they were smuggled to international art dealers across the Thailand border.

In 2011, the NGA purchased the artworks for A$2.3 million (£1.18 million) from the late antiquities dealer and smuggler Douglas A.J. Latchford (1931-2020). By 2019, the dealer was implicated in the illegal trade of antiquities and had charges laid against him relating to the alleged trafficking of stolen and looted Cambodian artefacts. Latchford denied any wrongdoing before his death in 2020.

The illegally exported bronzes were returned to Cambodian officials during a handover ceremony at the NGA in July. They will remain on display at the NGA for three years, whilst a new home for them is constructed in the capital of Phnom Penh.

Australia’s Special Envoy for the Arts, Susan Templeman, described it as “an opportunity to put right a historical wrong but also to strengthen our ties and deepen our understanding.”

A decade-long investigation into the provenance of the bronzes was carried out by researchers from the NGA and Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. Latchford’s daughter, Nawapan Kriangsak (formerly Julia Latchford Copleston), also worked alongside the two countries to help with the process. When her father passed away, she inherited his private collection of more than 125 sculptures and gold relics valued at over A$76 million (£39 million). In 2021, Kriangsak agreed to return the entire collection to Cambodia.

“I would like everything that Douglas assembled be kept where people around the world can enjoy it and understand it,” explained Kriangsak at the time. “There is no better place than Cambodia, where the people revere these objects not just for their art or history, but for their religious significance.”

Two years ago, the NGA also repatriated 14 artefacts to India. Researchers had similarly uncovered links between the artworks and the alleged antiquities smuggler Subhash Kapoor, as well as the late New York art dealer William Wolff (1906-1991).