The Met’s Artefact Return to Thailand Sparks Disappointment in Cambodia

via Khmer Times, 21 December 2023: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s decision to return two ancient bronze statues, including the “Golden Boy,” to Thailand has caused disappointment among Cambodian archaeologists and historians. While 14 artefacts were repatriated to Cambodia, including a 10th-century female goddess sculpture and a bronze head of Avalokiteshvara, the transfer of these two statues to Thailand has been contested.

Archaeologists and historians have expressed disappointment after a US museum recently agreed to hand over the Golden Boy and another statue, which they contest were crafted by ancient Khmers, to Thailand.

While The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), New York City in the United States, decided to return 14 artefacts to Cambodia, it also offered Thailand the bronze statue of the Golden Boy and a bronze statue about 49 centimetres high of a woman in a kneeling position with her arms raised above her head.

A Thai newspaper reported the “Golden Boy” statue was discovered in Ban Yang, in the Lahan Sai district of Buri Ram, near the Cambodian border, during an archaeological dig at Prasat Ban Yang ruins over 50 years ago.

Source: Disappointment over ancient statues going to Thailand – Khmer Times