[CPProt.net] The Indiana Jones Like Tale Of A Stolen Thai Crown

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The Indiana-Jones-Like Tale Of A Stolen Thai Crown
Wednesday, 9 March 2005, 12:19 pm
Opinion: Richard S. Ehrlich  

The Indiana Jones Like Tale Of A Stolen Thai Crown

by Richard S. Ehrlich

BANGKOK, Thailand -- A murky tale of thieves, greed and disputed possession
of a ruby-and-pearl-studded gold crown, which may have been worn by a
Siamese king but now glistens in San Francisco, is a mystery worthy of
Indiana Jones.

"A beautiful crown whose place of origin in Thailand has not been
conclusively confirmed by exhibition curators and other experts, despite
their best efforts" is the "disheartening" focus of a sudden dispute, said a
defensive Tim Hallman, spokesman of San Francisco's Asian Art Museum, where
the headpiece is currently on display.

"The crown was borrowed from the Philadelphia Museum of Art," Mr. Hallman
wrote in a letter to the Bangkok Post after the controversy hit Thai media
amid headlines such as: "Headpiece Frenzy."

The 7-1/2-inch tall headpiece resembles a cylinder with a slightly raised,
flat top, encircled by elongated arches, and hemmed by an jagged lower
border.

The enclosed crown is studded with rubies, pearls and filigree metalwork.

Thai officials admit they cannot yet determine if it is stolen property from
the defeated Ayutthaya kingdom of Siam.

During the mid-1400s, when the crown may have been created, Ayutthaya was
ruled by King Boromaraja II, who crushed neighboring Angkor Wat's Khmer
kingdom, invaded Chiang Mai and seized prisoners, but suffered havoc when
spies cut off the tails of the king's military elephants, causing the beasts
to rampage, according to historians.

"Among the most intriguing objects in the exhibition are the eight artworks
culled from an important cache of Buddha images, votive tablets, ritual
objects, and royal jewelry found in the crypt of Wat Ratchaburana, one of
Ayutthaya's temples," the San Francisco museum said in an upbeat November
press release introducing the exhibits. 


"In 1957, thieves broke into the previously unknown crypt deep within its
main tower. They found a rich hoard of Buddhist artworks, ceremonial
objects, and royal regalia of gold studded with gems," it said.

"We were surprised to see so many golden objects and Buddha statues," said
Li, a former thief, who surfaced last week to publicize his role in the
caper -- amid hopes that his subsequent bad luck and misery might be lifted
by a confession.

"There were swords and crowns. We told ourselves they must have belonged to
kings. I got away with some gold ornaments, while my friends took and shared
the other items.

"It took about three days to take it all out by putting the items in small
sand bags and hauling them up with a pulley," Mr. Li, a Thai, said.

Some of the loot was later rescued, but some was sold through crime
syndicates.

"But there's no proof...there was no systematic record of what was there,"
originally in the looted temple, said Forrest McGill, chief curator of the
Asian Art Museum, according to a report on Saturday (March 5) in the San
Francisco Chronicle.

"None of us feels comfortable about stolen property. None of us feels
comfortable about an archaeological site that's looted before it can be
studied. However, the Philadelphia Museum bought the crown fair and square
at public auction -- the Sotheby's catalog has a full-page color photograph
of the object -- and they've had it on display ever since," Mr. McGill said.

Sotheby's reportedly lists a dealer named Klejman who acquired the crown in
1965.

But Asia abounds with fake antiquities.

Thai officials warned the headpiece might be made of gold and gems, but
still be a replica.

Items made in the "Ayutthaya period" were of a "darker gold" and some
designs and shapes on the crown were "peculiar," differing from similar
headpieces displayed in Thailand's Chao Sam Phraya Museum, they said.

"We could try to buy it back, or seek its return through negotiations. But
at this moment, the most important thing is to determine whether the prized
headpiece is real or not," Arak Sunghitakul, director-general of Bangkok's
Fine Arts Department, was quoted as saying.

As the plot thickens, guilt trips are spreading.

On Tuesday (March 8), the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, came
under Bangkok's scrutiny.

Thailand's National Museum director, Somchai Nakhon Phanom, told the Nation
newspaper about a Buddhist amulet and Hindu statue listed in the Pasadena
museum's brochure.

"I want the [Thai] government to contact the museum to arrange for them to
be inspected," Mr. Somchai said.

"If it is proved that the items are national assets, then the [Pasadena]
museum should be asked to return them."


*************
Richard S. Ehrlich, a freelance journalist who has reported news from Asia
for the past 26 years, is co-author of the non-fiction book, "HELLO MY BIG
BIG HONEY!" -- Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing
Interviews. His web page is www.geocities.com/glossograph/

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