Smithsonian returns Angkorian artefacts

The United States’ Simithsonian Institution handed over more than 60 pieces of Angkorian pottery to Cambodia earlier this month. Apsara Authority

The Smithsonian Institution has handed over more than 60 Angkorian-era pottery artefacts to the Kingdom, according to the Apsara Authority.

The pottery in question is believed to have been produced in today’s Buriram province in Thailand, according to Apsara’s Facebook post.

The Smithsonian Institution brought them back “in order to keep, preserve and study”.

Ear Darith, deputy director of Angkor International Center for Research and Documentation at Apsara, said in a statement that the pottery was brought from Buriram province to the United States in the 1970s by a Japanese and American couple, who “then handed them over to [the] Smithsonian Institution”.

The statement indicates that some items were well-preserved while others were broken. Intact items will be shown in exhibitions, with all of them up for study.

The handover on April 2 was presided over by Apsara representatives Ear Darith and Thy Sereyvuth, as well as US Embassy representative Monica Davis.

According to the statement, this was the first time a large number of pottery items had been handed over.

The US Embassy and Smithsonian Institution did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.

Additional reporting by Leonie Kijewski

Contact author: Chhay Channyda

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