12th-century artefact to be returned to Thailand by Chicago museum

The object was previously attributed to Cambodia but has now been confirmed to have originated from the Phanom Rung temple in northeast Thailand. The pilaster fragment was donated by Marilynn Alsdorf in 2017 and has been on display at the museum for several years.

Sarah Guernsey, the museum’s deputy director and senior vice president for curatorial affairs told the Sun-Times, that the museum "Has always said, if we learn new information that leads us to believe we should not have something, we will return it. This is an example of us living up to that commitment.”

The intended repatriation was made possible through ongoing provenance research conducted by the Art Institute of Chicago. A specialist reevaluated the item for nearly eight months, conducting research that included examination, documentation, and a visit to Thailand. Once the specialist determined that the pilaster originated in Thailand, the museum initiated the transfer process.

This is not the first time the Art Institute of Chicago has returned an artefact to Thailand. In 1988, the museum returned a decorative stone beam featuring the god Vishnu, which had disappeared from a temple in Thailand in the 1960s. The museum subsequently sent two sculptures to the Kingdom of Thailand in 2010, according to the museum.

The latest historical repatriations include the return of 39 artefacts to Uganda by Cambridge University. The university, however, is only lending the artefacts to the owners for three years. Additionally, Oxford University is set to repatriate a venerable bronze sculpture depicting a Hindu poet and saint, dating back half a millennium, to its homeland of India.