How never-seen-before Cambodian antique jewellery mysteriously surfaced in London?

London: A large collection of Cambodian Angkorian crown jewellery, some dating back to the 7th century, was mysteriously found in London last summer, reports said. The stolen goods belonged to Douglas Latchford, a British antiquities smuggler. The majority of the jewellery, according to experts, has never been seen before, and their presence is astounding. The collection has been covertly transported back to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and will soon be put on display in the nation’s museum. In 2020, Latchford passed away while he was being tried in the US. After his death, his family pledged to give Cambodia his stolen collection, but the authorities had no idea what would be given or how it would be done. When he travelled to London last summer, Brad Gordon, the head of Cambodia’s investigating team, saw the jewellery for the first time on behalf of his country. He stated to the BBC: “I was transported to a secret location by a representative of the Latchford family. A car with four boxes inside was parked in the lot. I wanted to cry. Whoa, the crown jewels of ancient Cambodian civilisation were contained in four boxes in the trunk of the automobile, I just thought.” The recovered collection was discovered to contain 77 pieces of gold and jewel-encrusted jewellery, including crowns, belts, and earrings when it was completely unwrapped. Although it hasn’t been tested, a big bowl that is believed to be from the 11th century appears to be made of solid gold. According to experts, it may have served as a rice bowl for Angkorian aristocracy. According to researchers, one of the crowns looks to date from a time before the Angkorian era and may have been created by artisans as early as the seventh century. Unknown things include another little sculptured flower. Professionals simply aren’t aware of its intended application or motivation for creation. It is still unknown precisely when and how the jewellery was taken, as well as how it got to London. Angkor Wat is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and many of the artefacts can be compared to stone carvings found there. [caption id=“attachment_12181532” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Some of the jewellery was expected to have been looted from temples such as Angkor Wat. Source: Twitter[/caption] Construction on the biggest religious structure in the world began in 1122 as a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, but it later became a Buddhist temple. Angkor Wat suffered significant looting while under French colonial rule. Unfortunately, during the Khmer Rouge era in the 1970s and the unrest that persisted for decades, many of Cambodia’s other temples were pillaged. Sonetra Seng, an archaeologist, who spent years studying temple carvings to learn more about Angkorian jewellery said, “The jewellery demonstrates that the information on the engravings and the rumours are accurate”. “In the past, Cambodia was extremely wealthy. Even more so given that it is from a single collection located abroad, I still find it hard to accept,” she told BBC. Some of the jewellery had already been discovered; Douglas Latchford and Emma Bunker’s book Khmer Gold, which they co-authored in 2008, featured five pieces from the collection. This book and two others, according to Ashley Thompson, an expert on Khmer antiquities, are intricate sales brochures that provide private collectors a glimpse of what was being sold illegally behind closed doors. More Angkorian jewellery may still be discovered, according to the Cambodian government. The Cambodians have proof from Latchford’s email exchanges that, as recently as 2019, he was trying to covertly sell the collection out of a warehouse in north London. In order to ascertain whether Latchford’s associates in the are being probed by UK police, BBC enquired with the Metropolitan Police. However, they declined to respond, stating that they do not name anyone who are being looked at before they are charged with a crime. The BBC also visited Cambodia last year to speak with thieves who had become government witnesses and who had identified the artefacts they claimed to have taken from temples and sold to Latchford. Investigators have connected some of those items to museum artefacts that are currently housed in reputable UK institutions like the British Museum and the V&A. Iron Princess, one of the ladies the BBC spoke with at the time, will seek to identify some of the jewellery. Hun Sen, the dictatorial head of the nation, will for the time being be pleased to see the collection back. Since the opposition has been effectively destroyed by Hun Sen’s ruling party, this move will be portrayed as something Hun Sen has done for the good of his people ahead of a July election. Putting politics aside, common Cambodians want all the stolen goods returned. It will soon be put on public display in Phnom Penh after spending decades buried within dusty crates, giving this jewellery a second chance to shine. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.