The Trade in Looted Antiquities Endures for One Reason: Demand
An Artnet News report traces how looted Cambodian antiquities from the 10th-century Koh Ker temple complex entered the international art market, arguing that ongoing demand sustains the trade. It recounts a 1997 excavation of three stone figures at Koh Ker that were moved to the Thailand border and routed through Bangkok; by 1998 one statue was with a Manhattan dealer and later acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while another was sold by a London dealer and disappeared into a private collection. The article says two of the three statues have since been returned to Cambodia following investigations into the late British dealer Douglas Latchford, who allegedly trafficked Khmer sculptures to Western buyers for seven-figure sums. It adds that despite public claims of stricter provenance standards, antiquities continue to be stolen and trafficked globally.
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This story was covered in Museums Under Fire, Galleries on the Brink