Met Signs Cultural Property Agreement with Thailand, Repatriates Sculptures

Officials from New York’sMetropolitan Museum of Artand those representing Thailand’s Ministry of Culture on April 25 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) formalizing their commitment to work together on the research and display of Thai art. The ceremony took place at the Met. Signing on behalf of the museum was its president and CEO, Max Hollein; signing for Thailand was Phnombootra Chandrajoti, director general of the country’s Fine Arts Department.

“This agreement reaffirms our commitment to furthering the world’s understanding and appreciation of Thai art and culture,” said Hollein in a statement. “We value our open and ongoing dialogue with the Kingdom of Thailand, and look forward to future collaborations.”

During the ceremony, the Met returned to Thai officials Standing Shiva and Kneeling Female Figure, two eleventh-century Khmer-style sculptures deaccessioned by the museum late last year alongside fourteen Cambodian antiquities dating to the same era. The two sculptures are thought to have been taken from Thailand in the 1970s or after, entering the museum’s collection through donor and collector Douglas A. J. Latchford, who the New York Times reports was indicted on charges of illegal trafficking shortly before his death in 2020. 

The Met is set to pay costs associated with the return of the objects. In May, John Guy, a curator of South and Southeast Asian art at the Met, will accompany the items to Thailand, and according to ArtAsiaPacific will take part in a lecture at Bangkok’s National Museum, where the sculptures will be placed on view. 

The signing of the MoU and the repatriation of the sculptures reflect the latest efforts on the part of the Met to review its collection and examine policies currently in place with the goal of returning illegally obtained items. The museum last month named Lucian Simmons its inaugural provenance research chief, heading a newly assembled team devoted to performing due diligence regarding the museum’s acquisitions.