Two Looted 8th Century Sculptures Returned To Indonesia: Feds

Two ancient artworks looted from Indonesia years ago were returned this week, U.S. federal prosecutors announced.

Both are 8th century sculptures, according to Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The antiquities were formally returned Wednesday at a ceremony celebrating their repatriation at the Indonesian consulate, Clayton said.

Federal prosecutors said the items had been stolen as part of an organized looting network. The late antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford then sold them to an American collector.

The collector voluntarily relinquished 34 Cambodian and Southeast Asian antiquities after purchasing them from Latchford, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

“We celebrate the return of Indonesia’s cultural heritage to the Indonesian people,” Clayton said. “We thank the collector of these works for their voluntary safe return. It is with great pleasure that we send these artworks on the final leg of their journey home.”

The two bronze Buddhist sculptures depict Avalokiteshvara, and they stand approximately 16 and 20 inches tall. Both were looted from archaeological sites in Indonesia decades ago, then sold to Latchford, who was based in Bangkok, Thailand, officials said.

Latchford sold the sculptures and other antiquities to the American collector, who officials did not name, between 2003 and 2007. Federal prosecutors said Latchford concealed from the collector that the pieces had been stolen.

Latchford was indicted in 2019 in the Southern District of New York and accused of orchestrating a multi-year scheme to sell looted antiquities internationally. The indictment was dismissed after Latchford died.

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