Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has announced the restitution of 18 Khmer art objects and fragments recovered in London by the Metropolitan Police Service’s Arts and Antiques Unit, with support from the Heritage Crime Task Force of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The objects have been formally handed over to the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in London and will be prepared for shipment to Cambodia in the near future. According to information sources, the objects were recovered in November 2025 and identified as originating from Cambodia before the ministry submitted a formal request for their return in September 2026.
The 18 objects and fragments include stone sculptures, bronze objects used in religious ceremonies and jewellery fragments, dating from the 10th to the 13th centuries. Among them are a Baphuon-style sandstone sculpture head from the second half of the 11th century, a Bayon-style sculpture head from the late 12th century, a Buddhist bell with a handle in the shape of a vajra (a powerful weapon of Indra), a dancing deity on a throne, ornaments with pendants and a bronze lamp used in ceremonies. The ministry said the objects have not only artistic and archaeological value but also form part of Khmer history, religious beliefs, traditions and cultural identity. After the objects arrive in Cambodia, specialists from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the National Museum of Cambodia will study them and compare them with archaeological data, site records and relevant testimony to learn more about their history and origins.
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts thanked the Metropolitan Police Service’s Arts and Antiques Unit, the OSCE-led Heritage Crime Task Force and the ministry’s legal advisers, Mr Bradley J. Gordon and Ms Melina Antoniadis, for their assistance in securing the return of these art objects. The restitution of the 18 objects and fragments is part of Cambodia’s continuing efforts to locate and recover cultural property illegally removed from the country. The ministry also reaffirmed its commitment to protecting and reclaiming the nation’s cultural property and welcomed cooperation from governments, law enforcement agencies, museums, researchers and private art collectors. By: Sopheak
