stolen from Cambodia’s Angkorian temples dating back to the 7th century has resurfaced in London, astonishing experts. The collection of 77 pieces of gold and jewel-encrusted jewellery, including crowns, belts and earrings, was secretly returned to the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, and is due to go on display in the country’s national museum.
The collection belonged to British antiquities smuggler Douglas Latchford, who died in 2020 while awaiting trial in the US. His family promised to return the stolen items to Cambodia after his death, but authorities were unaware of what would be handed over or how it would happen. Brad Gordon, the head of Cambodia’s investigative team, became the first representative of the nation to see the jewellery when he visited London last summer. He described it as “the crown jewels of ancient Cambodian civilization packed into four boxes in the back of a car”.
Experts believe a large bowl found in the collection dates to the 11th century and is made of solid gold. It could have been used as a rice bowl for Angkorian royalty. One of the crowns appears to be from the pre-Angkorian period and could have been made by artisans in the 7th century. Other items, including a small sculpted flower, pose a mystery as experts are unsure why it was made or how it was used.
It is still unclear how and when the jewellery was stolen and how it ended up in London. Many of the items can be matched to stone carvings in the walls of Angkor Wat, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The largest religious monument in the world, its construction began in 1122 as a dedication to the Hindu God Vishnu, though it transitioned into a Buddhist temple decades later. Angkor Wat was heavily looted during the French colonial period and other temples were looted during the Khmer Rouge era in the 1970s.
Archaeologist Sonetra Seng, who studied Angkorian jewellery for years by examining temple carvings, was amazed to finally hold the real thing. She said: “The jewellery proves what was on the carvings and what was rumoured is really true. Cambodia was really, really rich in the past”. Some of the jewellery had surfaced before; Latchford included five items from the collection in a book titled Khmer Gold that he co-wrote with his collaborator Emma Bunker in 2008.
Khmer antiquities expert Ashley Thompson described this book and two others as elaborate sales brochures, giving private collectors a taste of what was being sold illegally behind the scenes. She said that publishing these materials and comparing them to museum pieces was a way of validating them and enhancing their value.
The Cambodian authorities believe more Angkorian jewellery is yet to be found. Latchford was attempting to secretly sell the collection from a north London warehouse as late as 2019. The BBC interviewed looters turned government witnesses who identified items they stole from temples and sold to Latchford; some of these have been matched by investigators to museum pieces now in respected UK institutions like the British Museum and the V&A.
The return of this collection will be welcomed by Cambodia’s autocratic leader Hun Sen ahead of an election in July. Ordinary Cambodians also want all looted items back, and soon they will be able to view them on public display in Phnom Penh. It will be a chance for this jewellery to shine once again after decades hidden inside dusty boxes.