Dept works to return ‘smuggled’ relics

Fourteen artifacts kept at the Honolulu Museum of Art in the US state of Hawaii have been found to have originated from Thailand, according to Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat.

US Homeland Security authorities asked the Thai government to verify the origin of 17 artifacts at the museum which they suspect were smuggled out of Thailand.

Of the 17 items, 14 were found by Thai experts to have their origins here, Mr Vira said.

The Fine Arts Department will inform the US authorities about the findings through the Foreign Ministry, he said.

The 14 pieces include four with distinctive physical appearances, including an ancient 1,500-2,000-year-old bronze bell commonly found in the Central Plains and the Northeast.

Another item is a statue of Buddha in a standing pose expressing an act of forgiveness, which would have been typically cast during the middle Ayutthaya Period more than 300 years ago.

Also originating from Thailand is another statue of Buddha, this time in a sitting pose, similar to many discovered at historical sites in Ayutthaya and Kamphaeng Phet.

There is also an image of Buddha that appears typical of the Lop Buri Period dating back about 700 years. Statues of such type are found in Suphan Buri and Nakhon Ratchasima.

Meanwhile, the government will formally ask the US Homeland Security authorities to help return other Thai artifacts believed to be in the US. They include two lintels, one missing from the Prasart Nong Hong In Buri Ram and the other from the Prasart Khao Lon in Sa Kaeo.

US authorities sent photos of what they suspected to be Thai artifacts and asked experts to examine them. They were found on display at museums throughout the US. Many of the items are bracelets and beads made from bronze.

Mr Vira said the work with US agencies to verify and recover lost Thai historical items is making headway.

The items, which hold priceless historical value, were mostly smuggled out of the country.

If and when the origins of the items are established, the process of returning them will begin.

The minister said he believed the US has pledged to work to return some of the items ahead of celebrations marking 200 years of Thai-US bilateral relations next year.