The Guimet Museum acceded to a request from the Culture Ministry for the return of the head last week. Spokesperson Thai Noraksathya said the head would be reattached to the statue’s body and would be unveiled to the general public in an official ceremony to be staged on the premises of the Phnom Penh National Museum tomorrow.
Harihara is a combined image of the Shiva and Vishnu Hindu deities. Mr Noraksathya likened the reattachment of the god statue’s head and body to the reunification of Cambodia.
The Harihara head was one of many precious artefacts looted by foreigners during the Indochina era. The head was one of several pieces the Culture Ministry has tracked down and asked to be returned.
Not all of the overseas museums are happy about returning their looted exhibits and have taken on the Cambodian government in courts of law. A number of US museums have returned artefacts in recent years.
France sends looted head of god statue back to Cambodia
News in Asia
The Cambodian Culture Ministry has released a statement saying France has given back an ancient Harihara statue head. The head had resided in one of France’s top museums since it was stolen from a Takeo Province temple during French colonial rule in the 1880s.