US returns two stolen bronze statues to Indonesia
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The United States Attorney’s Office has announced the return of two bronze statues stolen from Indonesia, according to the US Embassy in Jakarta on Friday.
“We will continue to work with US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to stop irresponsible parties who seek to profit from historic works of art,” said US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, in an embassy press release.
He said his office was grateful to the collectors of the works for voluntarily agreeing to return the objects safely, adding that it was a source of pride to be able to repatriate the artworks to their homeland.
“This Attorney’s Office is fully committed to eradicating the illicit trade in stolen and looted art and antiquities,” Clayton stressed.
The antiquities officially returned to Indonesia in a repatriation ceremony at the Indonesian Consulate General in New York on Friday comprised two standing bronze statues of the Buddha Avalokiteshvara dating from the 8th century, each measuring roughly 16 and 20 inches (approximately 40.64 cm and 50.8 cm) in height.
The statues were taken illegally from archaeological sites in Indonesia by a group of looters several decades ago, and were subsequently sold to Latchford, who resided in Bangkok, Thailand.
Latchford sold the historic objects, along with other Southeast Asian antiquities, to US-based collectors between 2003 and 2007, concealing the fact that the items were stolen.
Towards the end of 2021, the collector voluntarily handed back a total of 34 antiquities originating from Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries that had been purchased from Latchford. Among the 34 items were two bronze statues from Indonesia.
The two bronze statues returned to Indonesia were subjects of a civil asset forfeiture action filed in New York, in the case United States v. A Late 12th Century Bayon-Style Sandstone Sculpture Depicting Eight-Armed Avalokiteshvara, et al., 22 Civ. 229 (JMF).
The two statues were identified as “Sculpture-12” and “Sculpture-27” in the civil forfeiture filings.
Since 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, working with HSI, has successfully investigated, identified and repatriated dozens of stolen and smuggled antiquities previously held by various individuals and institutions in the United States.
In 2019, Latchford was indicted in the Southern District of New York for orchestrating a years-long scheme to sell looted antiquities from Southeast Asian countries on the international art market. The indictment was ultimately dismissed following Latchford’s death.