Saturday, December 2, 2017

A set of ancient Angkorian gold jewelry returned from London to Cambodia

Tin Sokhavuth



A set of ancient Angkorian gold jewelry was brought from London and arrived in Cambodia on Saturday after the Cambodian government had intervened to stop the jewelry from being sale in London by the Jonathan Tucker Antonia Tozer Asian Art dealer.

According to VOA, the Cambodian government petitioned the dealership in November last year and asked the dealer to return the Angkorian jewelry to Cambodian people following the international law.

"Cambodia has provided concrete testimony to prove that the artifact jewelry belongs to Cambodia, is jewelry designed in the Khmer style and that only Cambodia has this style, and it was taken out of the country illegally," read the statement issued by the Cambodian government.

With the assistance from the British government, the dealer agreed to return the set of jewelry that includes a crown, necklace, earrings, armbands, belt and chest ornament.

In 1970, UNESCO adopted the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. As a result, countries that ratified this convention are prohibited from buying and/or selling ancient artifact.

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