In 2023, the museum partnered with the Photo Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry to determine their origins, ultimately finding that the bronzes had been photographed in temples in Tamil Nadu, India, between 1956 and 1959, and removed in violation of Indian laws. “Because we aim to understand the objects in our collection in their full complexity, we carry out a robust program of research that seeks to trace not just how they came to the museum, but the history of their origins and movements across time.” In December, the National Museum of Asian Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., returned three Khmer-period sculptures after research conducted in collaboration with Cambodian authorities determined that the works were likely looted during Cambodia’s civil war (1967–1975).
Author: Tessa Solomon
Published at: 2026-01-28 21:57:45
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