VOA文化艺术2024--Cambodia Celebrates Return of Long-lost Ancient Cultural Pieces

Cambodia has celebrated¹ the return of numerous cultural art pieces stolen during the country's civil war period.

Prime Minister Hun Manet recently led a ceremony to welcome the pieces, called artifacts, back to Cambodia. The event took place at the nation's Peace Palace in Phnom Penh. The palace houses the government's official headquarters.

The Cambodian leader said a total of 70 ancient statues had been reunited with the country's people. Most of the pieces are believed to have been stolen during Cambodia's civil war period, from 1967 until 1975.

At the time, the communist Khmer Rouge² ruled Cambodia. It is blamed for the killings³ of more than 1 million Cambodians during its rule and years of unrest and economic difficulties.

Multiple international efforts over the years have helped Cambodia get back its artistic⁴ and archaeological treasures. The stolen artifacts include ancient pieces from Asia as well as artwork lost or stolen in conflict areas such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe.

"A total of 70 Khmer cultural objects have been returned through a range of different processes," Cambodia's Ministry⁵ of Culture and Fine Arts said in a statement. These included voluntary returns, negotiations⁶, seizures⁷ and legal processes.

The statement said the returned artifacts included important Hindu and Buddhist⁸ pieces from the 9th-to-14th-century. Among them were "priceless stone statues" representing mythical⁹ Hindu figures, it added.

Hun Manet said that from 1996 until last month, 1,098 artifacts had been returned to Cambodia. About half were from private collections and half from foreign groups or governments.

Officials said the 70 items presented included 14 that arrived from New York's Metropolitan¹⁰ Museum of Art in early July. The rest, from private collectors, arrived in late July.

The pieces that came from the Metropolitan Museum were bought and trafficked by well-known art dealer¹¹ Douglas Latchford. He had been indicted¹³ in 2019 on charges linked to an effort that sought to sell stolen Cambodian artifacts on the international art market. Latchford, who died the following year, had denied any involvement in smuggling¹⁴.

A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia said the U.S. government had assisted the country with the return of over 150 ancient cultural pieces. Embassy official Bridgette Walker told ceremony attendees that the United States had long been a dependable partner "for protecting the cultural heritage of Cambodia."

Words in This Story

mythical - adj. existing in a myth: an ancient story about gods and brave people, often one that explains historical events

indict¹² - v. to officially accuse someone of a crime

heritage - n. the buildings, paintings, customs, etc. that are important to a culture or society

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

8 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

9 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

10 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

11 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

12 indict   

v.起诉，控告，指控

参考例句：

• You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。
• I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。

13 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

14 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。