Representatives from Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam sent letters to the museum, via U.S. investigators, in May and June, saying the prized relics had no legal export permits to lawfully leave their countries
Two of the so-called “Prakhon Chai” statues, while dozens of others remain in the collections of prominent American galleries from New York to San Fransisco. The U.S. government is investigating those as well.
The dagger, appraised at $8,000, “is one of the finest pieces of its kind,” according to the museum documents. Minted between 300 BCE and 200 CE, the 9-inch-tall dagger sports a standing human figure on its handle, a typical feature of Dong Son bronze weaponry. Bunker originally loaned the piece in 2005 to the Denver museum before making it part of her gift.Small, portable objects like this one, officials noted, are considered “very low risk for repatriation claims.
Experts in the illicit antiquities trade say objects with no provenance — such as Bunker’s donations — also represent enormous red flags, especially when they come from war-torn countries. Cambodia, in particular, suffered from widespread looting during the genocidal Khmer Rouge reign in the 1970s and subsequent civil war.
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