US Returns Two Stolen Ancient Statues to Indonesia

The United States has returned two bronze Avalokiteshvara statues to the Indonesian government. The artefacts were stolen by an organised looting network and sold through antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford to an American collector.

The announcement of the repatriation was made by Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The two standing bronze statues date back to the 8th century and measure 40.64 cm and 50.8 cm in height. They were stolen from an archaeological site in Indonesia and subsequently sold to Latchford, a dealer based in Bangkok. Latchford then sold the statues to a US collector without disclosing their illicit origins.

In 2019, Latchford was indicted for orchestrating a multi-year scheme to sell looted Cambodian and other Southeast Asian antiquities on the international art market. The indictment was later dismissed following his death. At the end of 2021, the collector voluntarily surrendered the antiquities, including the two Indonesian bronze statues. The items became the subject of a forfeiture action in the case ‘United States v. A Late 12th Century Bayon-Style Sandstone Sculpture Depicting Eight-Armed Avalokiteshvara, et al.’, identified as ‘Sculpture-12’ and ‘Sculpture-27’.

The repatriation ceremony was held at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in New York on 10 July 2026. Attorney Jay Clayton announced the return. Damian Williams stated that his office is fully committed to eradicating the illicit trade in stolen and looted artworks and antiquities. He thanked Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for their work in locating and repatriating the stolen cultural property and expressed pride in returning the artworks to their homeland. Since 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, in cooperation with HSI, has successfully investigated, identified, and repatriated dozens of stolen and smuggled antiquities from Cambodia and other parts of Southeast Asia that were previously held by various individuals and institutions in the United States.