Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), located in Pennsylvania, was established in 1876 for the city’s centennial celebration. It houses over 240,000 significant artworks from Europe, America, and Asia, including sculptures, paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, armour, and decorative arts.
Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of four additional artefacts from PMA:
Gold Sheet Depicting Buddha in the Maravijaya Pose within a Bodhi Tree Niche
Material: Gold
Age: Late Ayutthaya period, 20th Buddhist century
Size: 3.5 cm high, 3.8 cm wide
Origin: Thailand
Acquisition: Purchased with J H Wade Fund in 1970
Gold Sheet Depicting Buddha in Maravijaya Pose with Two Disciples in a Bodhi Tree Niche
Material: Gold
Age: Late Ayutthaya period, 20th Buddhist century
Size: 5.4 cm high, 7 cm wide
Origin: Thailand
Acquisition: Donated by Mrs William L. Van Alen in 2004
Gold Ornament (Siraporn)
Material: Gold
Age: Circa 21st Buddhist century
Size: 19.1 cm wide, 21.6 cm high
Origin: Thailand
Container Component or Lid (Kantho Vessel)
Material: Gold
Age: Ayutthaya art, 20th Buddhist century
Size: 51 cm wide, 8.3 cm long
Origin: Thailand
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco houses one of the most comprehensive collections of Asian art in the world, with over 18,000 pieces in its permanent collection, some dating back more than 6,000 years.
Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of one artefact from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco:
Head of Shiva
Material: Bronze
Age: Late Sukhothai art, 19th Buddhist century
Size: 29.2 cm high
Origin: Thailand
Kimbell Art Museum
The Kimbell Art Museum, located in Fort Worth, Texas, exhibits artworks including travelling exhibitions, educational programs, and houses an extensive research library.
Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of one artefact from the Kimbell Art Museum:
Dressed Buddha in Maravijaya Pose
Material: Bronze
Age: Approximately 17th Buddhist century
Size: 41.3 cm wide, 65.7 cm long, 175.7 cm high
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is the largest art museum in the western United States, attracting nearly one million visitors annually. It holds more than 150,000 works that represent the history of art from ancient to modern times.
Thailand has resolved to pursue the return of one artefact from LACMA:
Buddha in Maravijaya Pose
Material: Bronze
Age: Lopburi art, around the 18th Buddhist century
Size: 48.57 cm high, 21.9 cm wide
Origin: Thailand
The initiative to recover an additional 16 artefacts was disclosed during the 1/2025 meeting of the Committee for the Recovery of Thai Antiquities from Abroad, chaired by Sudawan Wangsuphakitkosol, Minister of Culture. The meeting took place on May 27, 2025.
The meeting reviewed progress on recovering the Prakhon Chai group of artefacts following the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco’s complete removal of four Thai antiquities from its collection registry in preparation for their return to Thailand. These items include three Bodhisattva statues and one Buddha statue.
“Next, the Fine Arts Department will collaborate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the Consulate-General in Los Angeles coordinating the return process. The handover schedule will await the official announcement by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. It is expected that the Prakhon Chai artefacts will be repatriated to Thailand within this year,” said Sudawan.
These four artefacts are part of a group of sculptures discovered in Prakhon Chai District (now Chalerm Phra Kiat District), Buriram Province, which were illicitly removed from the country in 1964.
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