Two Ancient Statues Repatriated to Thailand

News May 21, 2024

Thailand Standing Shiva
(The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
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Thailand Standing Shiva

BANGKOK, THAILAND—The Bangkok Post reports that two bronze sculptures that had been on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have been repatriated to Thailand. The sculptures, known as “Golden Boy” and “Kneeling Woman,” have been dated to the eleventh century A.D. “We are very appreciative of the Met’s effort in giving them back to their homeland,” said Culture Minister Sudawan Wangsupakitkosol. Now on view at Thailand’s National Museum, the statues have been placed with artifacts from the Khmer site of Prasat Sa Kamphaeng Yai, an eleventh-century shrine in northeastern Thailand. The “Golden Boy,” a gilt-bronze standing figure of Shiva, resembles a large sculpture known to have been recovered from the site. To read about a contested Khmer site on the Thai-Cambodian border, go to “Letter from Cambodia: The Battle Over Preah Vihear.”

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