Pandava
Object or Group Name
Pandava
Case Summary
At some point in the early 1970s, the top half of a 10th century Khmer statue of Pandava was removed from Prasat Chen temple within the Koh Ker complex in northwest Cambodia.
The Pandava had once stood near a series of other Khmer statues that were also later looted: the Duryodhana, which was seized from Sotheby's in 2012; the Bhima, returned by the Norton Simon Museum in 2014; and two Kneeling Attendants, returned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013.
Christie's had sold the Pandava to an anonymous collector in 2009 for USD $146,500, but bought it back in 2014 after officials determined that the sculpture had been looted. Christie's had previously tried to auction the same Pandava statue in 2000, but attracted no buyers.
Facing increasing evidence attesting to the looting and illicit export of the entire Koh Ker assemblage of sculpture, Christie’s voluntarily agreed to return the Pandava to Cambodia in May 2014.
The Pandava had once stood near a series of other Khmer statues that were also later looted: the Duryodhana, which was seized from Sotheby's in 2012; the Bhima, returned by the Norton Simon Museum in 2014; and two Kneeling Attendants, returned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013.
Christie's had sold the Pandava to an anonymous collector in 2009 for USD $146,500, but bought it back in 2014 after officials determined that the sculpture had been looted. Christie's had previously tried to auction the same Pandava statue in 2000, but attracted no buyers.
Facing increasing evidence attesting to the looting and illicit export of the entire Koh Ker assemblage of sculpture, Christie’s voluntarily agreed to return the Pandava to Cambodia in May 2014.
Number of Objects
1
Object Type
Sculpture – statues, carvings, bronzes, reliefs, figurines
Culture
Khmer
Auction House
Christie's
Private Collector
An unnamed private collector purchased the statue in 2009
Receiving Country
Cambodia
Sources
Christie’s to Return Cambodian Statue
https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/arts/design/christies-to-return-cambodian-statue.html?smid=tw-share&smv2&_r=1&referrer=
UPDATED > Rebuilding Koh Ker: A 3D Reconstruction Restores Context to a Looted Khmer Temple
https://chasingaphrodite.com/tag/koh-ker/
MOLA Contributor(s)
Jason Felch
Peer Reviewed By
Damien Huffer
Citation
“Pandava,” Museum of Looted Antiquities, accessed October 14, 2024, https://mola.omeka.net/items/show/1848.