Buddha statues returned from Australia

via Bangkok Post, 27 January 2023: The statues were in the possession of an Australian national for more than a hundred years, and donated to Thailand. There is no evidence that the sculptures were improperly acquired.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has handed nine wooden Buddha statues donated by an Australian national over to the Fine Arts Department, according to a post published on Thurday on the ministry’s website. The small wood carvings each measure 10 to 15 centimetres in height.

Australian Murray Upton informed the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra that he had inherited them from his father, who had been in possession of them since 1911.

A handover ceremony took place at the ministry yesterday. During the event, Nathapol Khantahiran, deputy permanent secretary for foreign affairs, and Sathaporn Thiangtham, deputy director-general of the Fine Arts Department, represented their respective organisations.

Source: Buddha statues returned from Australia