Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia's "unofficial" English translation of its press release on the returns of 74 Khmer antiquities from Latchford's collection
27.02.2026 09:55
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Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia's "unofficial" English translation of its press release on the returns of 74 Khmer antiquities from Latchford's collection
Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia's press release on the return of 74 antiquities from Latchford's collection, here in Khmer (see next post for English)
More photos of some of the objects returned to the MCFA by Latchford's family
Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (MCFA) has announced that it has received 74 Khmer antiquities from the collection of the late Douglas Latchford, in accordance with the 2020 agreement between the MCFA & the Latchford family. Here are photos released by the MCFA of some of the objects
Cover of forthcoming book, The Man Who Stole the Gods: A True Story of War, Obsession and a Global Art Conspiracy, by Matthew Campbell
The Man Who Stole the Gods is award-winning journalist Matthew Campbell's exploration of the career of trafficker Douglas Latchford who looted Cambodia's ancient heritage with the complicity of some of the world's most prestigious museums. Preorder for 6/2
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739182...
Cambodia is already aware of this sculpture. But nice to highlight a problematic item at the Asian Civilisations Museum. Whether it is mentioned in Latchford's computer files, or if former looters could recall this very unusual sculpture, hopefully its history will emerge.
"When Provenance, Policy, and Limited Museum Due Diligence Rings Old (Alarm) Bells." Comparing the Denver Art Museum's Douglas Latchford donated Dong Son bell (later restituted to Cambodia, with another in the Netherlands purchased via Marcel Nies. art-crime.blogspot.com/2026/02/when...
Happy Birthday, Karen!
Thanks! Leon Black was previously on the Board of the Asia Society but currently is not. I think he's still a Trustee of MoMA. I don't know about the other museums.
Thank you very much, Lynda
Thank you, @doug5301.bsky.social
It would be interesting to know the scope, aims, duration, etc. of the DOJ "inquiry" 5 years ago. So much has been exposed in that time about Latchford's activities & more is being learned all the time. Hopefully, the inquiry into the Black collection will be revived or accelerated.
”Jul-07, Maitreya – Thailand, 78 cm, USD cost $3,200,000, USD FMV $4,000,000”
This is likely a Prakhon Chai-style bronze statue that is mentioned by Latchford in October 2014 as said to have been bought by Black, according to a record in Latchford’s archive held by the Cambodian restitution team
In 2022 John Eskenazi was ordered by a UK court to repay a Qatari sheikh several million pounds for antiquities he had sold the sheikh which were found to be fake, including a $2.2 million Khmer Harihara statue. Eskenazi was cleared of fraud charges, however. www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/12/01/q...
I don't know. Whether they are still in Leon Black's collection or he sold or otherwise disposed of them, I haven't yet discovered in the Epstein Files released so far.
Cambodia has emails from Latchford's archive in which John Eskenazi & Douglas Latchford discuss a statue whose description matches the Shiva. Eskenazi sold it to Leon Black on Latchford's behalf for a $500k commission. Read Matthew Campbell’s report for Bloomberg tinyurl.com/mt9mh7eu
Publishing looted antiquities and exhibiting them in museums are typical moves used by dealers and collectors to attempt to legitimize and boost the market value of the artefacts. Latchford certainly deployed these tactics over the years, as is well documented.
John Eskenazi was one of the sponsors of the ”Bronze” exhibition. It's interesting that also in the exhibition was a Khmer statue of a Kneeling Woman (cat. 54), lent by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In Dec 2023, the Met returned this statue to Thailand because of its link to Douglas Latchford.
This statue was also shown at “Bronze,” an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in Sept-Dec 2012. The figure was said to be owned by a private collection (cat. 52). Here it is in the catalogue (cat. 52).
This statue was published in Bunker and Latchford’s Adoration and Glory (2004), cat. 70, where it was said to be owned by a private collector, and again in their Khmer Bronzes (2011), fig. 7.1a-d, where the photos are “courtesy of the Skanda Trust,” a trust owned by Douglas Latchford.
“Jul-13, Shiva – Cambodia, 110 cm, USD Cost $7,000,000, USD FMV $7,000,000" This statue was described in more detail in another list of Leon Black/Narrows artworks dated May 2014. www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
At the time of that publication, 2011, Black would have owned this Vishnu statue which he bought in 2009. So why did the photo come from Eskenazi and not Black? The dealer would already have had professional photos on hand, avoiding the authors having to obtain new photos through the collector
“11/17/2009, Vishnu – Funan, 130 cm, USD cost $3,100,000, USD FMV $3,500,000” A photo of a statue of this period & height was published in Emma Bunker and Douglas Latchford's Khmer Bronzes (2011), with caption “courtesy of John Eskenazi.” (fig. 4.26) (The only photo is of the figure’s rear view).
”3/30/2011, Head of the Buddha – Funan, 47 cm, USD cost $850,000, USD FMV $1,200,000” John Eskenazi advertised a 47cm-high sandstone Head of Buddha in Orientations magazine, March 2011.
“3/19/2009, Vishnu - Cambodia, 103 cm, USD cost $1,400,000, USD FMV $1,600,000” Black purchased this figure the same day as the Prajnaparamita. In the same show, John Eskenazi displayed a 10th-century Vishnu. Perhaps this is the one Black bought (Arts of Asia magazine, May-June 2009, p. 10)
A 9th-c Prajnaparamita from Northwest Cambodia was exhibited by John Eskenazi in New York in March 2009 and was reported to have “appealed to an American private collector.” (Arts of Asia magazine, May-June 2009, p. 10)
“3/19/2009, [Prajnaparamita] – Cambodia,” 52 cm, USD cost $2,600,000, USD FMV 3,000,000” A Prajnaparamita of Northwest Cambodia, late 9th c, 52 cm tall, was published as owned by a private collection in Emma Bunker and Douglas Latchford’s Adoration and Glory, 2004, cat. 33.
”3/19/2008, Torso of Hari Hara – Cambodia,” 105 cm, USD cost $1,750,000, USD FMV $2,200,000” A Harihara torso 105cm high was shown in 3/2008 in NY by John Eskenazi & reported as sold to “an American private collector for a US Dollar seven-figure sum.” (Arts of Asia magazine, May-June 2008, p. 10)
Following is some possible provenance information for these sculptures
Descriptions of several items seem to match those of antiquities linked to indicted trafficker Douglas Latchford and the London dealer John Eskenazi