March 13, 2005
Thai temple loot on exhibit
A temple raider struggling with 50 years of guilt has admitted looting priceless Thai treasures in the hope that his confession will secure the return of a gold crown from an American museum.From the Telegraph.Li Kasemsang, 78, has revealed that he was part of a gang that stripped 300lb of gold crowns, swords, jewellery and statues - some dating back to the 15th century - from one of the biggest temples in Ayutthaya, Thailand's ancient capital.
After the raid in 1957, only 20 per cent of the haul was recovered. The Thai authorities had no idea that an ornate gold crown which they believe could have been stolen was in the United States until it emerged last month at an exhibition in San Francisco. The Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, is now fighting to get it back, plunging the exhibition into controversy and putting the crown at the heart of the latest fine art "custody battle".
The crown, which is owned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was listed in a catalogue for The Kingdom of Siam exhibition as "probably from the crypt of the main tower of Wat Ratchaburana, Ayutthaya" - the temple emptied by Mr Li and 20 accomplices.
Posted by David on March 13, 2005 9:23 AM
Perhaps the argument could be made that all objects d'art should be stripped from museums and exhibits and returned to their country of origin. Goes right along with saying that this piece of land or that one 15 centuries ago belonged to the war chieftan Huruk and therefore should be returned to the Hurukian people (insert preferred ethnicity in place of fake names). If you go back far enough, perhaps we should return the earth to Adam and Eve, or to God. Or at the very least to the 12 tribes....gosh, where do you place the pin for the starting point?
Posted by: Rhubarb on March 14, 2005 9:05 PM
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