On 25 April, a group gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to witness the signing of a new “memorandum of understanding” between the museum and the government of Thailand. The museum also took the opportunity to officially return two 11th-century metal sculptures, which were deaccessioned from its collection in December.
The agreement, signed by Max Hollein (director of the Met) and Nitaya Kanokmongkol (executive director of the Thai cultural ministry’s office of national museums), states that any dispute between the museum and Kingdom of Thailand “shall be settled amicably” and “in a spirit of mutual respect without reference to any third party”.
Before the signing, representatives of both the Met and Thailand took turns making remarks on the two works being returned. Hollein noted that the sculptures “rightfully belong to the Kingdom of Thailand”; Somjai Taphaopong, consul-general of Thailand in New York, called them “magnetic and invaluable objects”. The most enthusiastic speaker was John Guy, the Met’s curator of South and Southeast Asian art, who spoke at length about the sculptures, referring to them as “unsurpassed”, “remarkable” and “unrivalled masterpieces”.
The sculptures, Standing Shiva and Kneeling Female Figure, both date from the 11th century. Standing Shiva, believed to depict the Hindu god in human form, is “the most complete extant gilded-bronze image from Angkor”, according to the Met’s official text accompanying the sculpture. The text further notes that the figure may have “served a dual purpose, representing a cult icon for worship in a royal sanctuary and also acting as an ancestor image of a deceased ruler”. The work was donated to the museum in 1988 by the media mogul Walter H. Annenberg.
Kneeling Female Figure, a possible depiction of a Khmer queen, was likely part of a group of sculptures venerating a deity. (“This seating etiquette is still followed in Thailand today,” Guy noted in his remarks.) The sculpture was sold to the Met in 1972 by the infamous antiquities trafficker Doris Wiener.
Guy will accompany the two works to Thailand next month, where he will give a lecture and participate in the celebration of their return. The sculptures are scheduled to immediately go on display at their new home, the National Museum in Bangkok.
