{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1852490,
        "msgid": "us-returns-two-stolen-bronze-statues-to-indonesia-1783684456",
        "date": "2026-07-10 17:44:58",
        "title": "US returns two stolen bronze statues to Indonesia",
        "author": "",
        "source": "ANTARA_ID",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Legal",
        "summary": "The United States has repatriated two 8th-century bronze Avalokiteshvara statues to Indonesia after they were looted from archaeological sites decades ago. The artefacts were voluntarily surrendered by a US collector who had purchased them from the late dealer Douglas Latchford, who was previously indicted for trafficking looted antiquities. The repatriation ceremony took place at the Indonesian Consulate General in New York, underscoring ongoing US-Indonesia cooperation to combat the illicit trade in cultural property.",
        "content": "<p>The United States Attorney\u2019s Office has announced the return of two\nstolen bronze statues to Indonesia, according to the US Embassy in\nJakarta on Friday. \u201cWe will continue to work with Homeland Security\nInvestigations (HSI) to stop unscrupulous individuals who seek to profit\nfrom historic works of art,\u201d said US Attorney for the Southern District\nof New York, Jay Clayton, in an embassy press release. He expressed\ngratitude to the collector for voluntarily surrendering the items\nsafely, stating that it was a privilege to return the artworks to their\nhomeland. \u201cThe Attorney\u2019s Office is fully committed to eradicating the\nillicit trade in stolen and looted art and antiquities,\u201d Clayton\nstressed. The antiquities officially returned to Indonesia during a\nrepatriation ceremony at the Indonesian Consulate General in New York on\nFriday consist of two standing bronze statues of the Buddha\nAvalokiteshvara dating from the 8th century, measuring approximately 16\nand 20 inches in height respectively. The statues were illegally taken\nfrom archaeological sites in Indonesia by a group of looters decades ago\nand subsequently sold to Latchford, who was based in Bangkok, Thailand.\nLatchford sold these historic objects, along with other Southeast Asian\nantiques, to a US collector between 2003 and 2007, concealing the fact\nthat they were stolen. Around the end of 2021, the collector voluntarily\nsurrendered a total of 34 antiquities from Cambodia and other Southeast\nAsian countries purchased from Latchford. Among these 34 items were the\ntwo bronze statues from Indonesia. The two returned statues were the\nsubject of a civil forfeiture action filed in New York, under the case\nname United States v. A Late 12th Century Bayon-Style Sandstone\nSculpture Depicting Eight-Armed Avalokiteshvara, et al., 22 Civ. 229\n(JMF). The two statues were identified as \u2018Sculpture-12\u2019 and\n\u2018Sculpture-27\u2019 in the civil forfeiture complaint documents. Since 2012,\nthe US Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York, in\ncollaboration with HSI, has successfully investigated, identified, and\nrepatriated dozens of stolen and smuggled antiquities previously held by\nvarious individuals and institutions in the US. In 2019, Latchford was\nindicted in the Southern District of New York for orchestrating a\nyears-long scheme to sell looted Southeast Asian antiquities on the\ninternational art market. The indictment was ultimately dismissed\nfollowing his death.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-returns-two-stolen-bronze-statues-to-indonesia-1783684456",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}