Ceremonial Buddhist blessing by the Venerable Phin Sokol, Abbot of Khemararangsi Buddhist Temple, and Temple Committee Chief Mr Kong Sambok, with deaccession sculptures, National Gallery of Australia, 2023. Photo: Karlee Holland.
A sculpture that was part of the breaking provenance story back in 2013 – which led to the National Gallery of Australia (NGA)’s Asian Art Provenance Project – has been handed back to the Kingdom of Cambodia in a formal ceremony.
It, along with two other ninth to tenth century bronze sculptures, had been acquired into the NGA’s Asian Art Collection in 2011, at a cost of US$1.5 million (AU$2.3 in today’s figures), purchased from the late art dealer Douglas Latchford.
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
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