Tracking return of 16 Thai artefacts from US museums to Thailand

Thailand has decided to pursue the return of an additional 16 historical and exquisite art objects currently held in various museums across the United States. The following are some key pieces identified so far:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or The MET, is a world-class museum located in the heart of New York City. It houses over 2 million artefacts, making it one of the largest art museums in the world and the third most visited globally.

Thailand has decided to seek the return of 5 items from The MET, detailed as follows:

Architectural Ornament Fragment

Material: Stucco

Age: Early 16th Buddhist century

Size: 66.7 cm high

Origin: Upper Central Thailand

Acquisition: Donated by Cynthia Hazen Polsky in 1986

Standing Buddha Statue

Material: Gilded Bronze

Age: 20th Buddhist century

Size: 156 cm high

Origin: Thailand

Acquisition: Donated by Cynthia Hazen Polsky in 1991

Gold Sheet with Bodhisattva Image

Material: Gold

Age: Dvaravati art, circa 13th Buddhist century

Size: 4.2 cm wide, 7.4 cm long

Origin: Thailand

Acquisition: Donated by Dr and Mrs Roger Stoll in 1984

Gold Sheet with Bodhisattva Image

Material: Gold

Age: Dvaravati art, circa 13th Buddhist century

Size: 7.9 cm long

Origin: Thailand

Acquisition: Donated by Samuel Eilenberg in 1987

Gold Sheet with Buddha in Teaching Pose (Vitarka Mudra)

Material: Gold

Age: Dvaravati art, 13th–14th Buddhist centuries

Size: 6.7 cm wide, 15.2 cm long

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), located in Ohio, displays over 61,000 artworks from around the world. It is internationally renowned for its extensive collections of Asian and Egyptian art.

Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of three additional artefacts from CMA, as follows:

Buddha in the Maravijaya Pose 

Material: Bronze

Age: 20th Buddhist century

Size: 85.10 cm high

Origin: Thailand

Acquisition: Purchased from the J H Wade Fund in 1970

Buddha in the Maravijaya Pose

Material: Gold

Age: Late 19th Buddhist century

Size: 10.6 cm high

Origin: Thailand (Wat Ratchaburana)

Acquisition: Purchased from Far Eastern Art

Gold Sheet Depicting Vishnu (Narayana)

Material: Gold

Age: Dvaravati art, 12th–14th Buddhist centuries

Size: 4.5 cm wide, 7.6 cm long

Newark Museum

The Newark Museum (NM), located in Newark, the most populous city in New Jersey, is the largest museum in the state. It houses collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and Asian art (including a significant collection of Tibetan art), as well as art from Africa, the Americas, and the ancient world.

Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of one additional artefact from NM:

Dharmachakra (Wheel of Dharma)

Material: Sandstone

Age: 12th Buddhist century

Size: 150 cm high

Origin: Thailand

Acquisition: Purchased in 1982

Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), located in Pennsylvania, was established in 1876 for the city’s centennial celebration. It houses over 240,000 significant artworks from Europe, America, and Asia, including sculptures, paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, armour, and decorative arts.

Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of four additional artefacts from PMA:

Gold Sheet Depicting Buddha in the Maravijaya Pose within a Bodhi Tree Niche

Material: Gold

Age: Late Ayutthaya period, 20th Buddhist century

Size: 3.5 cm high, 3.8 cm wide

Origin: Thailand

Acquisition: Purchased with J H Wade Fund in 1970

Gold Sheet Depicting Buddha in Maravijaya Pose with Two Disciples in a Bodhi Tree Niche

Material: Gold

Age: Late Ayutthaya period, 20th Buddhist century

Size: 5.4 cm high, 7 cm wide

Origin: Thailand

Acquisition: Donated by Mrs William L. Van Alen in 2004

Gold Ornament (Siraporn)

Material: Gold

Age: Circa 21st Buddhist century

Size: 19.1 cm wide, 21.6 cm high

Origin: Thailand

Container Component or Lid (Kantho Vessel)

Material: Gold

Age: Ayutthaya art, 20th Buddhist century

Size: 51 cm wide, 8.3 cm long

Origin: Thailand

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco houses one of the most comprehensive collections of Asian art in the world, with over 18,000 pieces in its permanent collection, some dating back more than 6,000 years.

Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of one artefact from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco:

Head of Shiva

Material: Bronze

Age: Late Sukhothai art, 19th Buddhist century

Size: 29.2 cm high

Origin: Thailand

Kimbell Art Museum

The Kimbell Art Museum, located in Fort Worth, Texas, exhibits artworks including travelling exhibitions, educational programs, and houses an extensive research library.

Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of one artefact from the Kimbell Art Museum:

Dressed Buddha in Maravijaya Pose

Material: Bronze

Age: Approximately 17th Buddhist century

Size: 41.3 cm wide, 65.7 cm long, 175.7 cm high

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is the largest art museum in the western United States, attracting nearly one million visitors annually. It holds more than 150,000 works that represent the history of art from ancient to modern times.

Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of one artefact from LACMA:

Buddha in Maravijaya Pose

Material: Bronze

Age: Lopburi art, around the 18th Buddhist century

Size: 48.57 cm high, 21.9 cm wide

Origin: Thailand

The initiative to recover an additional 16 artefacts was disclosed during the 1/2025 meeting of the Committee for the Recovery of Thai Antiquities from Abroad, chaired by Sudawan Wangsuphakitkosol, Minister of Culture. The meeting took place on May 27, 2025.

The meeting reviewed progress on recovering the Prakhon Chai group of artefacts following the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco’s complete removal of four Thai antiquities from its collection registry in preparation for their return to Thailand. These items include three Bodhisattva statues and one Buddha statue.

“Next, the Fine Arts Department will collaborate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the Consulate-General in Los Angeles coordinating the return process. The handover schedule will await the official announcement by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. It is expected that the Prakhon Chai artefacts will be repatriated to Thailand within this year,” said Sudawan.

These four artefacts are part of a group of sculptures discovered in Prakhon Chai District (now Chalerm Phra Kiat District), Buriram Province, which were illicitly removed from the country in 1964.