DOJ Files to Repatriate Illegally Imported Thai Relics Housed in San Francisco Museum
The Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture action for two religious relics found in the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said in an Oct. 27 news release. The complaint involves…
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“two 1,500-pound hand-carved decorative lintels” that came from ancient religious temples in Thailand. “The complaint alleges the Thai lintels became part of a large collection held by a noted collector of South and Southeast Asian art,” it said. “The collection was bequeathed to the City and County of San Francisco, which used the collection, including the lintels, for display in the Asian Art Museum.” A federal investigation began after a 2016 museum visit by the consul general of the Thai consulate in Los Angeles, who inquired about the provenance of the relics. Based on that investigation, Justice said the lintels were imported in the 1950s or 1960s “in violation of Thai law, i.e. without the requisite export documents, and as LINTELS 1 and 2 were the cultural property of Thailand, LINTELS 1 and 2 constitute stolen, smuggled, and/or clandestinely imported or introduced merchandise.” The museum didn't comment.