Let’s return to the unmarked bronzes recently installed in display cabinets at the National Museum for the 75th anniversary celebrations to mark diplomatic relations between the USA and Cambodia. In the right-hand cabinet are three bronzes, but for this post I’ll concentrate on just one of them, the Buddhist Triad, at the rear of the display. All of the bronzes were returned to Cambodia from the United States, either being rescued from private collectors or from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. This triad was handed-over to American authorities by wealthy collector James H Clark. It had been featured in a glossy coffee-table book, published by co-authors Douglas Latchford and Emma Bunker in 2011, titled Khmer Bronzes: New Interpretations of the Past. The text from the book is as follows:
‘A Buddhist triad comprising a Naga-enthroned Buddha flanked by Lokeshvara and Prajnaparamita figures set on a single base became a national cult image during the first decades of Jayavarman VII’s reign, continuing a sacred concept that had already been represented by the Khmer during the last half of the tenth century. In such triads, the Buddha represents Absolute Truth, Lokeshvara compassion, and Prajnaparamita the personification of wisdom. The deities are identified by their respective attributes and wear royal dress appropriate to their importance in the current Buddhist hierarchy. A delightful touch is provided by the Naga’s tail running up the side of the coils in back. The ushnisha-cover surmounting the Naga’s primary head highlights the Naga’s elevation in status. These Buddhist triads follow a basic iconography in which the deities are royally garbed to reflect Buddhism’s status as the state religion with close ties to the ruler and the court. They reflect the crux of Jayavarman’s early religious vision, that the compassion of Lokeshvara and perfect wisdom of Prajnaparamita together engender Buddhahood. The triads are all generally assembled from five separately cast elements comprising the base, the Naga’s hood, and the three deities, each attached by a pendant tang that slots into the base designed with an expanded middle section to lead the worshipper’s eye directly to the Buddha.’ [Extract from Khmer Bronzes, 2011].
The Buddhist Triad was repatriated to Cambodia early in 2023, though it’s only now on display for the first time. It was in August 2022 that the American authorities handed over to Cambodian representatives in New York, twenty-five (25) precious pieces of Khmer art, both in stone and bronze, that were previously in the private collection of American tech billionaire James H Clark. A former professor at Stanford, Clark co-founded the Netscape Communications Corporation in 1994, but had been duped by rogue dealer Douglas Latchford between the years 2003 and 2008 into purchasing a selection of Khmer artifacts to decorate his Miami Beach, Florida penthouse in the United States. He paid around USD35 million for the Khmer artifacts, though after he sold the penthouse, the collection had been kept in storage out of sight for the past decade, before the US federal authorities contacted him. They presented evidence that Latchford provided false statements, fake provenance documents and illegal customs paperwork to hide the real identity of the looted sculptures, and Clark voluntarily handed over the works of art, that also included the enormous Ganesha which you can see on display in the museum’s courtyard. The American authorities announced the surrender of the items at the start of 2022 and they were formally given to Cambodia’s Ambassador in New York that same year. Latchford was indicted by the Southern District of New York in 2019 on charges of antiquities trafficking, but never stood trial for his more than fifty years of illegal activities from his Bangkok headquarters, and died a year later. A separate post will highlight the Lokeshvara and Vishnu which are displayed in the same cabinet.Credit By :Andy Brouwer
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