A vast trove of Cambodia’s Angkorian crown jewellery, some dating back to the 7th Century, resurfaced in London last summer. It has been revealed that the stolen items belonged to British antiquities smuggler Douglas Latchford. Experts say they have never seen most of the jewellery before and are stunned by its existence. The collection has been secretly returned to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, and is due to go on display there in the country’s national museum.
Latchford died in 2020 while awaiting trial in the United States. His family promised to return his stolen collection to Cambodia after he died. The resurfaced collection was found to contain 77 pieces of gold and jewel-encrusted jewellery, including crowns, belts and earrings. A large bowl is thought to date to the 11th Century and although it has yet to be tested, appears to be made of solid gold. Experts believe it could have been used as a rice bowl for Angkorian royalty.
One of the crowns appears to be from the pre-Angkorian period, experts believe, and could have been made by artisans in the 7th Century. Other items, including a small sculpted flower, pose a mystery.
It’s still unclear exactly how and when the jewellery was stolen and how it made its way to London. Many of the items can be matched to stone carvings in the walls of Angkor Wat, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The largest religious monument in the world, its construction began in 1122 as a dedication to the Lord Vishnu, though it transitioned into a Buddhist temple decades later.
Angkor Wat was heavily looted during the French colonial period. However, many of Cambodia’s other temples were looted during the Khmer Rouge era in the 1970s, and the turmoil that continued for decades.