Cambodia demands return of stolen statues

Video credit Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey reports this month that –

An auction house in the US state of New York has agreed to return an ancient statue that was looted from a remote Cambodian temple in the 1970’s. The statue is among seven missing statues that have been traced to the United States. Cambodia says it wants all of the statues back to be displayed together at the country’s national museum.

Source Al Jazeera English.

 
 

Conservation of Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia

Video AlJazeera English

The Global Heritage Network reports that –

Currently among Cambodia’s top-listed sites for nomination to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, Banteay Chhmar (The Citadel of the Cats) is one of the great architectural masterpieces of Southeast Asia and the Khmer Kingdom’s epic Angkorian Period. Lacking any conservation over the past 800 years, the temple complex has slowly collapsed and disintegrated – its proud towers and awesome temples disappearing into the overgrowth. Coupled with threats from trees and the jungle, structural failure and looting, Banteay Chhmar is in critical need for conservation, master planning and increased protection. Local communities must be an integral part of the site’s protection and responsible development to ensure long-term success and proper management.

Full feature here.

 

Preah Khan Temple, Cambodia

The Hall of Dancers frieze (1996) Preah Khan Temple, Cambodia

The World Monuments Fund reports that –

Hidden deep in the jungles of Cambodia’s Angkor Archaeological Park, Preah Khan is a vast temple complex sprawling across nearly 140 acres. Built by the Khmer king Jayavarman the seventh in the late twelfth century as a monastery and center for learning, it was once the heart of a city of nearly 100,000. Working in close collaboration with the APSARA National Authority, and with support from generous donors, World Monuments Fund is committed to preserving and protecting this unparalleled treasure for generations to come.

WMF’s aims in Cambodia from the time of its first mission to Angkor in 1989 have been to devise appropriate techniques for conserving and presenting its monumental remains and to help train a new generation of professionals and skilled workers. Detailed planning and conservation began at Preah Khan in 1991, and was the first activity of its type since the country’s devastating civil war. WMF’s work has encouraged the training of young Khmer architects, engineers, and archaeologists, and employment of a local work force has been a hallmark of WMF’s efforts.

A Walk through the Preah Khan Temple complex. Source The World Monuments Fund