ICE Returns Khmer Artifacts, But Questions Remain

ICE has issued a press release about the repatriation of Khmer artifacts to Cambodia. See http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1008/100818washingtondc.htm

The artifacts were seized as part of a larger investigation into the smuggling of South Asian Art.


Although the seizures were made with great fanfare, the actual legal proceedings seem limited and instead the investigation has been marred by the death of one of the its targets in police custody. As a result, her family received a large sum to settle a federal tort claims action.

I also find the government's allegations related to the theft of Ban Chiang pottery from Thailand to be questionable given the continuing availability of such pottery openly for sale within Thailand itself. See http://www.thaiwebsites.com/antiques.asp

Government Waste and Abuse

Jason Felch for the LA Times has reported on the goverment's now floundering case concerning Ban Chiang pottery that started some five years ago with so much fanfare.

The real problem with this investigation is that it targeted artifacts that were openly available for sale in Thailand.  What was hyped as mainly a stolen property case became a far less "sexy" tax and smuggling case.  The old bait and switch.

It's high time for the US government to stop being the muscle for US academics with an axe to grind against collectors and foreign cultural bureaucrats.  If Thailand is so interested in repatriation of these ceramics, our courts are open to it.

Let Thai officials bring their own case instead of shifting that cost to the US Taxpayer.