Looted Thai artifacts: Heritage comes home

[gemini81]

could return some looted temple land to Cambodia, and some Isarn area to Laos, to set a good working example to inspire everyone by.

[wilcopops]

See the following link for a full story about the man that sold these artifacts to the museums.

http://chasingaphrodite.com/tag/bowers-museum/

I met Bob Olson back in the late 70's or early '80 at a lecture about Ban Chiang pottery given at the old Bullock's Wilshire department store in Los Angeles. He was giving the lecture and selling some of the pottery through the store. I became acquainted with him. I did become interested in some of the pottery. He invited me to several social events at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles, a very exclusive gentlemen's club at the time. He also invited me to a horse race to watch a race one evening of a horse he owned. He seemed to be well connected and I enjoyed the events. I additionally visited a storage unit filled with stuff wondering if the stuff was real or fake antiques. Obviously some of it was real. Goes to show how far someone can fall. On one hand it was the Thais digging up the stuff for sale and undoubtedly had there been no market the stuff it would still be buried. While one does not like to see the wholesale looting of places, it has always been that way, otherwise the stuff would never see the light of day. It happens all over the world and well to some degree it's finders, keepers. Half the museums of the world are filled with antiquities from other countries.

In this case half the returned stuff could disappear out the back door never to be heard of again if someone doesn't watch the goods.

That isn't a very realistic view of the situation.

Stolen artefacts are a risk of damage or disappearing into private collections - never to be seen again - but good museum series are set up to conserve, interpret, learn and educate and SHARE - not for nationalistic reasons - they also have systems for sharing artefacts as well as knowledge internationally.

hen private dealers get involved and items are looted, valuable information is lost due to unscientific removal or interference with th object and the end result is influenced not b=y science but by financial game.

Looting has gone on since time immemorial but that doesn't mitigate the current situation in any way. in the end archeology and the study of our past is an international affair....possession and location are important, but so are conservation and interpretation.

Edited November 24, 2014 by wilcopops

[Morakot]

Now these items, almost all of them looted from Ban Chiang, an archaeological site in Thailand's Northeast, have been returned to their rightful home.

How exactly did these items get to the US?

[wilcopops]

Now these items, almost all of them looted from Ban Chiang, an archaeological site in Thailand's Northeast, have been returned to their rightful home.

How exactly did these items get to the US?

There are some links above that shed light on that

[rickirs]

Return of Thai heritage? In the Asian spirit of copying Western products, all items were duplicated and sent to Thailand. Thus preserving Thai heritage as it is known on the streets of Bangkok.

[car720]

"For years, more than 500 artefacts including pottery, bronze tools, sandstone moulds and glass ornaments, have been offering a visual but illegal treat to visitors at the Bowers Museum in Santa Anna, California."

Are these artifacts going to be used as an educational tool to teach Thais about their history and heritage, or is it just a matter of national pride just to possess them. No artifacts should be excavated unless they are going to be researched and reexamined as techniques become more advanced, let alone dug up to the sole purpose of being displayed as works of art to make a profit for unscrupulous art dealers.

As a graduate student in anthropology/archeology years ago, I researched the early origins of rice domestication. At that time, the site of Non Nok Tha in northeast Thailand yielded the earliest signs of domesticated rice. However, when I asked Thais about this site, not one person had any idea what I was talking about. All the archeological work on the ancient Thai sites were conducted by westerners (Gorman, Bayard, Solheim, Parker, Young, et al). and their discoveries and research of these sites appear to have more educational interest in the west than they do in the country where they were discovered.

It would be beneficial for students to learn about their rich history and significance in worldwide prehistoric culture. Many of us make fun of how Thailand copies everything that is western and then pretends that they have Thai origins, yet they ignore what is truly Thai (or precursors to the Thai culture) and how advanced their prehistoric cultures were. Unfortunately, I doubt any of the teachers in Thai schools have an inkling of this history and are capable of teaching it. What a shame so many will never learn about the true origins of their culture.

So what you are really saying is that it would be beneficial for students here to learn their ABC's first.

[cookee68]

Good to see stuff being returned.

unfortunately my experience of museums, conservation and interpretation of artefacts in Thailand is that it is pretty poor.

I find historical interpretation in particular is terribly biased in favour of portraying a fanciful narrative of Thai history. I get the impression that museums are not aimed at helping people understand their past but glorifying certain aspects of history to justify successive modern regimes.

Very, Very true, and I have known foreign artefacts found in Thailand to be destroyed by Thai monks, as they were not considered relevant to Thailand,

[MJP]

Elgin marbles anyone?

Now don't start all that. What'ya think tourists go to Britain for? The weather?

[MAJIC]

Looted or Sold Illegally,it's a big difference?

Strangely the rightful ownership of the Elgin Marbles or other Artifacts to name but one,always seems to be in doubt when a particular Country has more trouble than it can handle,and desperately needs a diversion!

Here is the Elgin Marbles Saga,which does Greece no good whatsoever!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Marbles#.22Acquisition.22

I saw them about 15 years ago,disappointing,but maybe that is just me!

Edited November 24, 2014 by MAJIC

[MAJIC]

Elgin marbles anyone?

Well yes! it rather depends on which side you believe,Where the Elgin Marbles,legitimately purchashed,or where they stolen?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Marbles#.22Acquisition.22