SF’s Asian Art Museum Will Return Disputed Relics to Thailand

Thanks to Mercury News for sharing the news that San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum will return two religious relics back to Thailand that were allegedly stolen.

According to Business Insider, in 2016, when the consul general of the Royal Thai Consulate-General visited the Asian Art Museum he spotted the two Thai lintels. When he inquired about their origins, he learned they were donated to the museum. The Thai government noted that the artifacts had been illegally exported from the country.

The Asian Art Museum said they are pleased with the outcome which noted, “The museum has long been committed to returning these lintels, which have been held in its collection for more than 50 years. The museum is happy to report that the settlement confirms its initial position, avoids the unnecessary burdens of litigation, and allows the final steps of deaccessioning to continue without interruption. When this process concludes — following an Asian Art Museum Foundation board and Asian Art Commission vote on March 30 — the DHS will take custody of the lintels and facilitate their transfer to Thailand.”

United States Department of Justice issued the following press release:

The United States filed a complaint to forfeit the two Thai lintels which are housed in and have been displayed at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum.

The Thai lintels are two 1,500-pound hand-carved decorative relics which, according to the complaint, were originally part of ancient religious temples in Thailand. These religiously-significant lintels are alleged to have been exported from Thailand in violation of Thai law over 50 years ago and thereafter were donated to San Francisco and displayed at its Asian Art Museum.

In 2017, the United States learned about the illegal exportation from Thailand of these relics, which renders them forfeitable under federal law, as the complaint alleges.  The United States and the City and County of San Francisco entered into a settlement agreement, signed by U.S. District Court Magistrate Donna M. Ryu, in which San Francisco consents to the forfeiture to the United States of the Thai lintels and, upon the completion of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum’s deaccessioning process, their repatriation to Thailand.  The United States will thereafter coordinate with Thai authorities to ensure the safe return of the lintels to Thailand.

The Thai lintels, according to the agreement, will be returned to Thailand through the U.S. Department of Justice’s victim remission program.  Upon their return, the lintels will be placed on exhibition for the religious and cultural appreciation of the people of Thailand.

The forfeiture action is the result of a three-year investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.