Most of the stone and bronze images of the gods made their way onto the international art market in the US, Europe and Asia. Upon reaching these markets, they were sold into secretive private collections, museums, art galleries and auction houses.
“Khmer art was so highly regarded that a single stone statue could fetch up to $2 million.
Now, a host of museums are investigating their own collections to assess the history of individual objects, with some already returning Khmer artworks such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Denver Art Museum,” said art researcher Andy Brouwer.
He explained that more than 100 museums worldwide hold Khmer antiquities in their collections, though it is likely a larger percentage of Angkorian artefacts are hidden away from prying eyes in private collections.
