On Wednesday, the Indonesian Consulate in New York hosted an event celebrating the return of two 8th-century bronze sculptures to Indonesia.
According to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Buddhist sculptures were originally taken from archaeological sites in Republic of Indonesia by an organized looting network and sold to Douglas Latchford, the British dealer who died in Thailand in 2020, a year after he was indicted for trafficking antiquities, particularly from Cambodia. Latchford sold the bronzes, along with dozens of other looted objects, to an unnamed collector between 2003 and ’07.
Around 2021, this collector relinquished 34 objects (including the bronze Buddhas). “Over the years, Latchford lied to and withheld information from the Collector to conceal that the pieces were stolen,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“We will continue to partner with [Homeland Security Investigations] to end callous profiteering from stolen artworks of cultural significance,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “It is with great pleasure that we send these artworks on the final leg of their journey home.”
The July 8 ceremony at the Indonesian Consulate also included the return of two preserved human skulls, part a large cache of repatriated antiquities from Italy, Iraq, and Indonesia. The skulls are from the Dayak, a collective term for the more than 200 Indigenous groups native to Borneo, and are collectively valued at approx. $15,000.
Winanto Adi, Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia, noted that the country’s cooperation with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office “reflects the trust, mutual respect, and shared values that have long characterized the friendship” between the two partners.
