A Buri Ram-based conservation group has kick-started a campaign to press for the return of a "lintel", a decorative object above a gate, believed to have been smuggled out of Thailand decades ago.
Tanongsak Harnwong, leader of Samnuek 300 Ong conservation group, said the pre-Angkorean lintel, which was made of white sandstone in the Kleang-Baphuon style and featured Lord Yama, or the god of death, surrounded by flowers, was on exhibition at the Chong Moon Lee museum in San Francisco. It was believed to have been stolen from Nong Hong temple in Buri Ram's Non Dindaeng district some 50 years ago.
He said the group obtained a photo of the lintel and compared it with one taken by the late archaeologist Manit Vallibhotama, who took the photo of the famous Vishnu reclining on the Serpent Ananta lintel at Phanom Rung sanctuary, and found the two were identical. "They look like the same item," said the businessman-turned-conservationist who was involved in the restoration of Nong Hong temple in 2002-2003.
More importantly, Mr Tanongsak said, Chong Moon Museum said the lintel is from "Nong Hong temple, Buri Ram province" which is in the lower part of the Northeast.
"With that information it's clear the lintel belonged to us. We believe it must have been smuggled from Thailand at the same time the Vishnu reclining on the Serpent Ananta lintel was stolen from Phanom Rung sanctuary," he said, referring to the lintel that Thailand retrieved from the Chicago Art Institute and reinstalled at Phanom Rung Sanctuary in 1988.
According to Mr Tanongsak, Manit took the two photos, among many others, during his exploratory trip of the Northeast and were included in his report in 1960. It was Manit's photo of the Vishnu lintel that Thailand used as key evidence to prove the country's ownership of the invaluable lintel, eventually winning the case.
Manit's photo of the Nong Hong lintel showed the object was attached above the gate on a building on the southern side of the temple which is from the same period as the 12th century Prasart Muang Tam in Buri Ram, he said, adding the group was studying the Vishnu lintel case and would follow suit.
"It's the right move as the public wants the piece of national heritage returned to the country," he said.
The lintel is described on the museum's website as a "museum purchase" with no further details on its origin. The description says it comes from "Cambodia or Northeastern Thailand, former kingdom of Angkor, date approximately 975-1025". It is currently on display at the museum's Gallery 9.
San Francisco's Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, named for its biggest donor, is billed as one of the largest such showcases in the world - and home of a priceless Buri Ram lintel. (Photos via asianart.org)
