via The Art Newspaper, 23 February 2021: Some added nuance to the repatriation of lintels from the Asian Art Museum to Thailand that was reported earlier – the lintels were already in the process of repatriation, and the move by the US Justice Department was essentially unnecessary.
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco has breathed a sigh of relief, as a civil complaint brought against them by the Department of Justice regarding two ancient Thai artefacts has been settled by a US district court in California, on the condition that the works be returned.
“We are disappointed that the Department of Justice felt the need to go through this performative legal exercise,” says the museum’s director Jay Xu in an email. “The return of these pieces has been long underway, and this legal process served only to expend public resources and to cloud the respectful and serious process of deaccession and repatriation.” Because the museum’s collection is owned by the city of San Francisco, city attorneys represented the institution during the court case.
Source: Lintels at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco to return to Thailand | The Art Newspaper
