Early this year, officials from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand accused the Denver Art Museum (DAM) of having stolen artifacts that were looted from temples and historic sites and asked for them back. Currently, the DAM is still in possession of the pieces and it has not made much progress in returning them. 

The stolen artifacts in the DAM include a 2,000-year-old dagger from Vietnam and a bronze Buddha statue from Thailand. The pieces came from Emma Bunker who was an art dealer known for smuggling artifacts. She worked closely with Douglas Latchford, another art dealer who has been accused of trading looted artifacts from Cambodia. Bunker donated many artifacts to the DAM that did not have provenances or ownership documentation, meaning that the DAM could not have known if the items were legally acquired or not. Considering the DAM is one of the biggest art museums in the United States, it is concerning that they did not have processes in place to make sure that their pieces were legally obtained. However, it seems that they do not have processes in place when it comes to artifacts that are from countries outside of Europe and America. When dealing with the ethics of the acquisition of artifacts, museums seem to be less concerned when it comes to non-western countries. 

This article points out that one of the reasons Western museums feel the need to house looted items is because of racism. The excuses these museums have are rooted in the Western view that they have to guide Eastern countries to help them become “civilized.” Many museums refuse to return looted artifacts because they argue that the countries that they came from are not competent enough to take care of them, which is not necessarily the case.

The article also talks about how returning the artifacts would help strengthen the relationship between the United States and Southeast Asian countries. Many countries are open to loaning artifacts to museums around the world as long as the ownership of the pieces is displayed. Therefore, if the DAM returned the artifacts to the Southeast Asian countries, they could create a relationship for future trading of artifacts.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/23/denver-museum-return-looted-cambodia-thailand-vietnam