Art review: 'Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia' at the J. Paul Getty Museum

via CAAI

March 13, 2011

At the J. Paul Getty Museum, "Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia" is a very small show on a very large subject. For a viewer, its primary achievement is to make you want to see more.

The Khmer Empire was born in 802, when a Hindu monarch, Jayavarman II, declared himself a god and established his seat of power in Angkor in the northern reaches of what is today Cambodia. The city grew to be immense, among the largest cities in the world, with a sphere of influence that encompassed a large chunk of modern-day Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The empire lasted more than 600 years -- nearly until the birth of Columbus.

Say the word Khmer today, however, and visions of horrific crimes against humanity perpetrated in the 1970s civil war by the brutal Communist leader Pol Pot still linger. "Gods of Angkor" evokes an entirely different world.

Among the show's most impressive works is a 12th-century "Crowned Buddha," with upper arms held close to the ramrod-straight torso, forearms raised forward from the body and open palms held up. Even to the uninitiated, this formal, highly ritualized pose presents a thoroughly unprotected gesture that demonstrably offers peace.

Nearly 3 feet tall, the cast-bronze sculpture is less ornate than a Chinese counterpart might be. Still, the exquisite ornamentation sets the figure apart from an everyday human being. Erect and symmetrical, its head, throat and waist encircled with elaborately modeled jewelry, the serenely smiling Buddha speaks of dignity, eternity and unostentatious majesty. A human form assumes an otherworldly presence.

Khmer sculpture registers as an obviously complex subject -- produced over half a millennium, influenced by powerful crosscurrents from India and China and responding to compelling varieties of Hindu, Buddhist and secular forces. Also complex is the treacherous process of lost-wax casting in bronze. The technically arduous method can result in sleek objects with a spirit very different, and often more elegant and stately, than the carved sandstone Khmer sculpture that is more commonly encountered.

Typical, however, and evident in the majority of the show's sculptures, is the straight, columnar modeling of the figures' legs. Feet face forward and are separated in a firm stance that conveys stability more than rigidity. It's unusual for a divine Khmer sculpture to stand in a posture that reveals the slightest sense of ordinary bodily relaxation.

Any one of the many technical demands of bronze casting is unlikely to explain this standard design. Instead, it draws a subtle distinction between a mundane person, who would not be memorialized in expensive bronze, and a deity who warrants such noble and enduring treatment. It's almost as if the formality of the deity's posture creates a portal to another dimension.

Also imposing are two very different sculptures that find their considerable strength and charm in close observation of nature -- specifically the animal kingdom. One is Nandin, the decorated bull that serves as Shiva's primary vehicle and the gatekeeper of his temple. The other is Ganesha, Shiva's elephant-headed son. Perhaps because both animals are already differentiated from a person, each is endowed with a more relaxed naturalism.

The Getty show was organized by the Smithsonian Institution's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, where it had its debut last spring. (Former Getty Museum Director Michael Brand, a specialist in Southeast Asian art, helped initiate the exhibition.) One drawback of its installation here is that most of the objects are in cases or on pedestals that stand against the walls. The sculptures are typically frontal, in keeping with their ritual function; but you can't get behind the "Crowned Buddha," for instance, to see the modeling in the back. That's a shame.

The show was also significantly trimmed from its Washington debut. Mostly works from the prehistoric and pre-Angkor period were cut. Twenty-six of the show's original 36 bronzes are at the Getty.

The sculptures and decorative objects were loaned from the incomparable holdings of the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, signaling something of a return from the dark and insular days of the Khmer Rouge a generation ago. If it inspires a desire to see more Cambodian bronzes of the Angkor period (802-1431), two nearby options are at hand.

The most impressive collection is at Pasadena's Norton Simon Museum, where nine Cambodian bronzes are among more than two dozen Angkor period and pre-Angkor objects. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has six small decorative bronzes in its collection, including jewelry and a finial. For comparison, both museums also house impressive Cambodian sandstone carvings.

Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia, J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, (310) 440-7300, through Aug. 14. Closed Monday. www.getty.edu

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Bayon Temple Serenaded with Music, Dance for the 'Masters' (Cambodia news in Khmer)

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Kingdom defends its ballet

Photo by: Tracey Shelton
A dancer performs Khmer Royal Ballet in 2008.

via CAAI

Monday, 29 November 2010 15:02 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

The Cambodian government last week condemned statements made by members of Thailand’s Yellow Shirts that the origins of Khmer Royal Ballet were derived from traditions in Thailand.

The statements were reported on the website of Thai television network ASTV nearly two weeks ago and quoted Yellow Shirt members as saying that “both music and dance of [the Khmer Royal Ballet’s] modern forms are of Thai characteristics”.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the statements were unreasonable and baseless.

“We think that this statement has shown the bad dignity and culture of these Thai extremist groups, which aim at insulting, creating polluted environments and lying about national and international issues to people in the world.”

In 2003, the Khmer Royal Ballet was proclaimed a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. This international distinction, according to UNESCO, honours “the most remarkable examples of oral traditions and forms of cultural expression in all regions of the world”.

The National World Heritage Committee issued a statement last week to help explain why the Khmer Royal Ballet was its own cultural artefact, and not based in Thai traditions.

It said the Khmer Royal Ballet started at “the beginning of the Christian period and continued to be performed during Angkorian, post-Angkorian periods up to the present time, as depicted on galleries of ancient Khmer temples and architecture”.

Cambodia and the Yellow Shirts, who support current Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, have quarreled for several years over border demarcations, particularly over land near the Preah Vihear temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Read More

Kingdom defends its ballet

Photo by: Tracey Shelton
A dancer performs Khmer Royal Ballet in 2008.

via CAAI

Monday, 29 November 2010 15:02 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

The Cambodian government last week condemned statements made by members of Thailand’s Yellow Shirts that the origins of Khmer Royal Ballet were derived from traditions in Thailand.

The statements were reported on the website of Thai television network ASTV nearly two weeks ago and quoted Yellow Shirt members as saying that “both music and dance of [the Khmer Royal Ballet’s] modern forms are of Thai characteristics”.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the statements were unreasonable and baseless.

“We think that this statement has shown the bad dignity and culture of these Thai extremist groups, which aim at insulting, creating polluted environments and lying about national and international issues to people in the world.”

In 2003, the Khmer Royal Ballet was proclaimed a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. This international distinction, according to UNESCO, honours “the most remarkable examples of oral traditions and forms of cultural expression in all regions of the world”.

The National World Heritage Committee issued a statement last week to help explain why the Khmer Royal Ballet was its own cultural artefact, and not based in Thai traditions.

It said the Khmer Royal Ballet started at “the beginning of the Christian period and continued to be performed during Angkorian, post-Angkorian periods up to the present time, as depicted on galleries of ancient Khmer temples and architecture”.

Cambodia and the Yellow Shirts, who support current Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, have quarreled for several years over border demarcations, particularly over land near the Preah Vihear temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Read More

Kingdom defends its ballet

Photo by: Tracey Shelton
A dancer performs Khmer Royal Ballet in 2008.

via CAAI

Monday, 29 November 2010 15:02 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

The Cambodian government last week condemned statements made by members of Thailand’s Yellow Shirts that the origins of Khmer Royal Ballet were derived from traditions in Thailand.

The statements were reported on the website of Thai television network ASTV nearly two weeks ago and quoted Yellow Shirt members as saying that “both music and dance of [the Khmer Royal Ballet’s] modern forms are of Thai characteristics”.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the statements were unreasonable and baseless.

“We think that this statement has shown the bad dignity and culture of these Thai extremist groups, which aim at insulting, creating polluted environments and lying about national and international issues to people in the world.”

In 2003, the Khmer Royal Ballet was proclaimed a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. This international distinction, according to UNESCO, honours “the most remarkable examples of oral traditions and forms of cultural expression in all regions of the world”.

The National World Heritage Committee issued a statement last week to help explain why the Khmer Royal Ballet was its own cultural artefact, and not based in Thai traditions.

It said the Khmer Royal Ballet started at “the beginning of the Christian period and continued to be performed during Angkorian, post-Angkorian periods up to the present time, as depicted on galleries of ancient Khmer temples and architecture”.

Cambodia and the Yellow Shirts, who support current Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, have quarreled for several years over border demarcations, particularly over land near the Preah Vihear temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Read More

Khmer Wedding

In Khmer wedding, it has a lot of ceremonies held in chronological orders. They show the historical roots related to the Buddha’s period which existed ages ago. According to a book “Khmer Wedding Rules” of Oknha Nov, it puts that in ancient Khmer wedding laws, people perform a song describing God Vesandor Borom Pothisat arranging the marriage between his children – Chealy and Kroesna. And some other songs are about the marriage arrangement of God Ream and Seda. Oknha Nov wrote that the current wedding preparations are arranged according to the rules drawn up by King Preah Chey Chesda Thebdey. According to the king’s book, it puts that all ceremonies in Khmer wedding are related to mythical stories such as a story “Som Sla Kanseng”. It is told that there were two men who went to feed their buffalos in the field would like to make friends with each other and wanted to be relative by marriage with each other because one had a son and the other had a daughter. In order to prove their words, they ask for betel nuts packed in krama from each other to show their promise that their children would marry to each other. Another story is “the three betel flowers”. It describes that there were four men who had different skills – swimming, shooting, fortune telling, and magic. After completing their study, they returned home. Along the way back near a stream, the fortune teller said that day they were going to meet a girl and become their wife. Then a big bird swooped down on a girl, Khemry, who was having a bath. Right away the shooting man took his bow and shot the bird down back to the stream. The swimmer then swam to bring her to the ground but she was just dead. After that the magic man helped her be alive again. All four men felt in love with the lad, so they were judged by the Buddha that she would become a wife of someone who swam to help her because he was able to touch her body first. And the fortune teller, magic man, and shooting man would become the father, mother, and brother respectively. Since then in all weddings, the bride and the groom must have three betel flowers in order to show gratitude towards their parents and brothers/sisters. Setting-the-date ceremony and the groom holding the scarf are told that Prince Thaong was married to Princess Tevtey, a daughter of the sea dragon king. After setting the date already, Tevtey had to bring him to her father at dragon world, so the sea dragon’s daughter asked the prince to hold her scarf in order to dive into the dragon world. In the meanwhile, the dragon king commanded his man to kill the prince at the gate in order to test the prince’s ability. But the daughter had known this; hence, she disguised herself as the prince by changing her skirt and it was put on the prince instead so that the killer was not able to kill the prince. That is why in the current Khmer wedding it was seen that there is clothes change between the groom and the bride, and the groom holding the bride’s scarf in to the room, accompanied by “Phat Cheay and Neang Neak” songs, etc. The ceremony called “Chey Haong Sousdey Haong Men Haong” in wedding ceremony performed until now is followed by an ancient story recorded in “the rules of wedding” book. It describes that Once upon a time there were two brothers – Chey and Sousdey. At that time, there was no king to continue after the previous king had died in Cambodia, so the officials in the palace relied on the holy elephant and horse to find a man to be their king. Then the animals approached the brothers’ house. Consequently, they knew that one of the brothers was the suitable man to be crowned. Chey became the king and Sousdey became his assistant at the same time. When crowned, the people whooped to bless the king. They said “Chey Haong Sousdey Haong Men Haong” simultaneously. The blessing is adapted to use in the wedding until now. “Bongvil Popil” ceremony in the Khmer wedding is also written in “collective Khmer legends” book, volume 9. According to the legend, it is told that once upon a time, there was a man named Chey Sorya who had completed the magic training already from Eyso God, so he asked the God for a sacred relic as a blessing tool for the weddings of human being. Then the God gave the man a replica of his penis and a replica of his wife’s vagina as the blessing tools to spread their reputation in the world. Eyso God took diamond sand from the universe to make a gold banyan leaf representing his wife’s vagina and took a diamond rock from Himalaya Mountain to make a candle representing his penis and supposed them to be “two blessings”. He then told the man to take the candle wrapped in the banyan leaf to circle three times around grooms and brides in order to inhale the smoke making them powerful. The “Popil” ceremony is believed to bring harmony and joyfulness for the new couples making them successful in all challenges. Since Khmer people firmly and sincerely believe in “Popil”, it is performed not only in wedding ceremony but also in other ceremonies such as housewarming, birthday, etc. “holding a sword” tradition in the wedding progress is also told that once upon a time there was a high ranking knight in Peareansey Palace, who fell in love with a daughter of the villager and deposit a piece of gold as a dowry and promised to marry in three months’ time. Three years had gone, so she was married to her neighbor villager but on the wedding day, the knight appeared and took out his sword and killed the man who was the groom. Then the chief clergyman had prayed to dismiss all bad things at the place. The clergyman had analyzed on the power of the sword. That is why people use a sword in the wedding when the bride and the groom are in pair for blessing. Tradition on Khmer Wedding Season Wedding ceremony is very meaningful for each of individual’s life who follows their tradition and the laws of the country. That is why this ceremony is carefully dealt with concerning to choosing the date which is believed to bring luck and harmony for the people’s lives and starting a new families. Some families do not allow their children to marry in the rain season and some delay it for two years after the engagement ceremony because of the fortune telling. According to Mr. Nhean Phoeun, a researcher and publisher of Khmer tradition of national and international festival committee, he said that Khmer tradition allows people to marry only in a period of six months in a year but not the other six. Wedding can be carried out only in the 30-day months. Those six months could be in early May, July, October, January, and March. But for engagement ceremony and matching the natural chemistry between son and daughter, they could be performed in any month. He continued that for the above months, there are only 7 days of each month that are good days. According to the Khmer tradition, they should not perform on their birthday, religious day, lunar or and solar eclipse, and during Khmer new years. Actually, the reason people do not get married in the rain season is that there are a lot of rains that make it difficult for the wedding reception, procession, and other ceremonies. It is also difficult for the guests travelling to wedding party and it is when farmers are busy with their fields.

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Khmer Dance

Classical Dance of Cambodia The epic poem of Rama (Ramayana) is believed to have been revealed to a Hindu holy man named Valmiki by Brahma, the god of creation. This religious literary work, dating from about ad 4, is known in various versions throughout India and Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, the story has been set to music and dance and performed by the Royal Ballet since the 18th century. Although the epic is also known in the villages, where it is translated orally or dramatized in the popular shadow puppet theater, the ballet was traditionally a courtly art performed in the palace or for princely festivals. The music of the ballet is performed by the Pinpeat orchestra, which is made up of traditional xylophones, metallophones, horizontal gongs, drums, and cymbals

History Khmer classical dance derived from Indian court dance, which traces its origins to the apsarases of Hindu mythology, heavenly female nymphs who were born to dance for the gods. The traditions of Thailand and Java (in Indonesia) also influenced the music and dance of Cambodia. In classical Cambodian dance, women, dressed in brightly colored costumes with elaborate headdresses, perform slow, graceful movements accompanied by a percussive ensemble known as the pinpeat. Pinpeat orchestras include drums, gongs, and bamboo xylophones. In Cambodia's villages, plays performed by actors wearing masks are popular. Shadow plays, performed using black leather puppets that enact scenes from the Reamkern, are also enjoyed. Folk dancing is popular in rural Cambodia and is performed spontaneously to a drumbeat.

Apsara Dance Khmer Traditional Apsara Dance Peacock Dance At the heart of classical form is the Apsara, the joyful, almost wanton dancer whose images are everywhere. Princess Buppha Devi, who currently serves as the Minister of Culture, is a master of Apsar dancing, which dates to the 1st century. The graceful movements of the Apsara dancers, adorned with gold headdresses and silken tunics and skirts, are carved on the walls of many of the temples at Angkor. Estimates are that there were 3,000 Apsara dancers in the 12th century court of King Jayavarman VII. Over the centuries Khmer dancing lent its influence to the classical ballet of neighboring countries, and some of its postures and movements are similar to other Southeast Asian dance forms. But according to Princess Buppha Devi, "The Khmer kingdom started its traditions in the 8th century, 500 years before Thailand." In 1400, with the sacking of the Angkor Empire, the Apsara dancers were seized and taken to Thailand. Apsara dancing is one of two elements of classical ballet, the other being "today" dancing, the depiction of early myths. Many of the dances involve performing a fragment of the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic that is one and a half times as long as the Odyssey. Others are based on the legendary battles and mythical sagas carved in bas relief on the walls of the temples of Angkor-including the Churning of the Sea of Milk, the great battle between gods and demons for the holy liquid that gives immortality. There are 100 dances and dramas.

Angrot Dance

Monkey Dance

Read More

Khmer Dance

Classical Dance of Cambodia The epic poem of Rama (Ramayana) is believed to have been revealed to a Hindu holy man named Valmiki by Brahma, the god of creation. This religious literary work, dating from about ad 4, is known in various versions throughout India and Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, the story has been set to music and dance and performed by the Royal Ballet since the 18th century. Although the epic is also known in the villages, where it is translated orally or dramatized in the popular shadow puppet theater, the ballet was traditionally a courtly art performed in the palace or for princely festivals. The music of the ballet is performed by the Pinpeat orchestra, which is made up of traditional xylophones, metallophones, horizontal gongs, drums, and cymbals

History Khmer classical dance derived from Indian court dance, which traces its origins to the apsarases of Hindu mythology, heavenly female nymphs who were born to dance for the gods. The traditions of Thailand and Java (in Indonesia) also influenced the music and dance of Cambodia. In classical Cambodian dance, women, dressed in brightly colored costumes with elaborate headdresses, perform slow, graceful movements accompanied by a percussive ensemble known as the pinpeat. Pinpeat orchestras include drums, gongs, and bamboo xylophones. In Cambodia's villages, plays performed by actors wearing masks are popular. Shadow plays, performed using black leather puppets that enact scenes from the Reamkern, are also enjoyed. Folk dancing is popular in rural Cambodia and is performed spontaneously to a drumbeat.

Apsara Dance Khmer Traditional Apsara Dance Peacock Dance At the heart of classical form is the Apsara, the joyful, almost wanton dancer whose images are everywhere. Princess Buppha Devi, who currently serves as the Minister of Culture, is a master of Apsar dancing, which dates to the 1st century. The graceful movements of the Apsara dancers, adorned with gold headdresses and silken tunics and skirts, are carved on the walls of many of the temples at Angkor. Estimates are that there were 3,000 Apsara dancers in the 12th century court of King Jayavarman VII. Over the centuries Khmer dancing lent its influence to the classical ballet of neighboring countries, and some of its postures and movements are similar to other Southeast Asian dance forms. But according to Princess Buppha Devi, "The Khmer kingdom started its traditions in the 8th century, 500 years before Thailand." In 1400, with the sacking of the Angkor Empire, the Apsara dancers were seized and taken to Thailand. Apsara dancing is one of two elements of classical ballet, the other being "today" dancing, the depiction of early myths. Many of the dances involve performing a fragment of the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic that is one and a half times as long as the Odyssey. Others are based on the legendary battles and mythical sagas carved in bas relief on the walls of the temples of Angkor-including the Churning of the Sea of Milk, the great battle between gods and demons for the holy liquid that gives immortality. There are 100 dances and dramas.

Angrot Dance

Monkey Dance

Read More

Khmer Dance

Classical Dance of Cambodia The epic poem of Rama (Ramayana) is believed to have been revealed to a Hindu holy man named Valmiki by Brahma, the god of creation. This religious literary work, dating from about ad 4, is known in various versions throughout India and Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, the story has been set to music and dance and performed by the Royal Ballet since the 18th century. Although the epic is also known in the villages, where it is translated orally or dramatized in the popular shadow puppet theater, the ballet was traditionally a courtly art performed in the palace or for princely festivals. The music of the ballet is performed by the Pinpeat orchestra, which is made up of traditional xylophones, metallophones, horizontal gongs, drums, and cymbals

History Khmer classical dance derived from Indian court dance, which traces its origins to the apsarases of Hindu mythology, heavenly female nymphs who were born to dance for the gods. The traditions of Thailand and Java (in Indonesia) also influenced the music and dance of Cambodia. In classical Cambodian dance, women, dressed in brightly colored costumes with elaborate headdresses, perform slow, graceful movements accompanied by a percussive ensemble known as the pinpeat. Pinpeat orchestras include drums, gongs, and bamboo xylophones. In Cambodia's villages, plays performed by actors wearing masks are popular. Shadow plays, performed using black leather puppets that enact scenes from the Reamkern, are also enjoyed. Folk dancing is popular in rural Cambodia and is performed spontaneously to a drumbeat.

Apsara Dance Khmer Traditional Apsara Dance Peacock Dance At the heart of classical form is the Apsara, the joyful, almost wanton dancer whose images are everywhere. Princess Buppha Devi, who currently serves as the Minister of Culture, is a master of Apsar dancing, which dates to the 1st century. The graceful movements of the Apsara dancers, adorned with gold headdresses and silken tunics and skirts, are carved on the walls of many of the temples at Angkor. Estimates are that there were 3,000 Apsara dancers in the 12th century court of King Jayavarman VII. Over the centuries Khmer dancing lent its influence to the classical ballet of neighboring countries, and some of its postures and movements are similar to other Southeast Asian dance forms. But according to Princess Buppha Devi, "The Khmer kingdom started its traditions in the 8th century, 500 years before Thailand." In 1400, with the sacking of the Angkor Empire, the Apsara dancers were seized and taken to Thailand. Apsara dancing is one of two elements of classical ballet, the other being "today" dancing, the depiction of early myths. Many of the dances involve performing a fragment of the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic that is one and a half times as long as the Odyssey. Others are based on the legendary battles and mythical sagas carved in bas relief on the walls of the temples of Angkor-including the Churning of the Sea of Milk, the great battle between gods and demons for the holy liquid that gives immortality. There are 100 dances and dramas.

Angrot Dance

Monkey Dance

Read More

Cambodian dance ensemble brings latest production to Hopkins Center for the Arts this month

The Lives of Giants” is more than a stage showcase of Cambodia classical dance styles.

It is a timely spotlight on decades-old atrocities, and the alleged perpetrators now facing a United Nations-backed court.

In the wake of reports last week that four Kymer Rouge leaders were formally charged by a United Nations-back court in Cambodia on charges of genocide, war crimes, murder and crimes against humanity, the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College in Hanover will present the Khmer Arts Ensemble’s 20 dancers and musicians in two programs based on Hindu creation myth and themes of abuse of power.

“(The Sept. 16) New York Times reported on the indictments of four alleged formal Khmer Rouge officials, all in their 70s and 80s, an all-too-slight event in the longdelayed and blunted effort to bring leaders of this 1970s atrocity to justice,” said Rebecca Bailey, publicity coordinator for the Hopkins Center.

“This is precisely the sort of secrecy and reluctance to examine itself that Cambodian choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro has brought to light through her acclaimed work, particularly the newest piece, “The Lives of Giants,” which will be presented to Granite State audiences Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 28 and 29,” Bailey said.

Just eight when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, Cheam Shapiro spent four years in a forced-labor camp.

During that time, Pol Pot’s brutal regime almost managed to wipe out centuries of Cambodian arts, she said. From 1975 to 1979, he led a genocide that nearly obliterated the intelligentsia, with the Khmer Rouge killing off an estimated 90 percent of the country’s artists, classical dancers included.

“After the regime was overthrown by the Vietnamese in 1979, surviving dancers gathered to try to rebuild what had been an oral tradition, passed from teacher to student, over hundreds of years,” Bailey said. “When the Royal University of Fine Arts reopened in the 1980s, Cheam Shapiro became a member of its first graduating class. She was a member of the dance faculty there from 1988 to 1991, when she immigrated to the United States.”

Settling in Long Beach, Calif., home to the largest Cambodian community outside of Southeast Asia, she began teaching dance and established what in 2002 became the KAE, now based in both Long Beach and Takhmao, Cambodia, just outside Phnom Penh. The ensemble is part of a larger organization, Khmer Arts, devoted to training a new generation in the ancient art form.

Since then Cheam Shapiro has emerged as an internationally recognized choreographer, fusing Cambodian classical dance with other traditions while remaining true to the idiom’s fine technique and transcendent beauty. These projects include “Shir Ha Shirim,” a 2008 collaboration with American avant-garde composer John Zorn based on the Old Testament’s Song of Songs; “Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute,” commissioned by opera director and international impresario Peter Sellars for a 250th Mozart birthday celebration in 2006 in Vienna; and the 2005 “Seasons of Migrations.”

“The Lives of Giants” draws on a story from Reamker — the Cambodian version of the ancient Hindu epic “The Ramayana” — involving imperfect gods, mischievous angels and a giant who abuses his god-given powers.

The performances are part of a three-day residency that includes a workshop on classical Cambodian dance and a panel discussion on artists across the globe who address contemporary issues through their work. Both events are open to the public.

Cambodian classical dance brings together sculptural movement, shimmering costumes and ancient stories.

It is always performed to live accompaniment, usually, the cascading rhythms and scales of the pin peat, the gamelan-like ensemble that accompanies Cambodian classical dance. The art form dates back to the Angkor Empire of the eighth to 13th centuries, a society that also left the treasured Angkor Wat temple complex, whose bas reliefs depict dancers in poses still seen in classical dance.

“‘The Lives of Giants’ is an allegorical look at cycles of violence within societies,” writes Cheam Shapiro in program notes for the performance. “Violence begets violence. The abused become the abusers. Within Cambodian society, state-led terror and genocide of the recent past has fed contemporary epidemics of domestic violence and human trafficking. Nevertheless, I believe compassion is an antidote. When we acknowledge our own and our enemies’ humanity, we create room to step away from inhumane behavior.”

True to the tradition of Cambodian classical dance, the Hanovers shows will be performed with live music, in this case by two singers and four instrumentalists on xylophone, gong, drums and a four-reed oboe-like instrument called the sralai.

“The musicians and dancers follow each other,” said Margaret Lawrence, Hopkins Center programming director. “It’s impossible to say who’s following whom. The musicians are both giving fresh impulses to the dancers and are following them closely. When you see Cambodian classical dance, you’re entering a space where the musicians are playing as much for you as for the dancers.”

Tickets to “The Lives of Giants” at the Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hanover are $25-$37; $14-$16 for ages 18 and younger. For more information, call 646-2422 or log onto hop.dartmouth.edu.

Read More

Cambodian dance ensemble brings latest production to Hopkins Center for the Arts this month

The Lives of Giants” is more than a stage showcase of Cambodia classical dance styles.

It is a timely spotlight on decades-old atrocities, and the alleged perpetrators now facing a United Nations-backed court.

In the wake of reports last week that four Kymer Rouge leaders were formally charged by a United Nations-back court in Cambodia on charges of genocide, war crimes, murder and crimes against humanity, the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College in Hanover will present the Khmer Arts Ensemble’s 20 dancers and musicians in two programs based on Hindu creation myth and themes of abuse of power.

“(The Sept. 16) New York Times reported on the indictments of four alleged formal Khmer Rouge officials, all in their 70s and 80s, an all-too-slight event in the longdelayed and blunted effort to bring leaders of this 1970s atrocity to justice,” said Rebecca Bailey, publicity coordinator for the Hopkins Center.

“This is precisely the sort of secrecy and reluctance to examine itself that Cambodian choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro has brought to light through her acclaimed work, particularly the newest piece, “The Lives of Giants,” which will be presented to Granite State audiences Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 28 and 29,” Bailey said.

Just eight when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, Cheam Shapiro spent four years in a forced-labor camp.

During that time, Pol Pot’s brutal regime almost managed to wipe out centuries of Cambodian arts, she said. From 1975 to 1979, he led a genocide that nearly obliterated the intelligentsia, with the Khmer Rouge killing off an estimated 90 percent of the country’s artists, classical dancers included.

“After the regime was overthrown by the Vietnamese in 1979, surviving dancers gathered to try to rebuild what had been an oral tradition, passed from teacher to student, over hundreds of years,” Bailey said. “When the Royal University of Fine Arts reopened in the 1980s, Cheam Shapiro became a member of its first graduating class. She was a member of the dance faculty there from 1988 to 1991, when she immigrated to the United States.”

Settling in Long Beach, Calif., home to the largest Cambodian community outside of Southeast Asia, she began teaching dance and established what in 2002 became the KAE, now based in both Long Beach and Takhmao, Cambodia, just outside Phnom Penh. The ensemble is part of a larger organization, Khmer Arts, devoted to training a new generation in the ancient art form.

Since then Cheam Shapiro has emerged as an internationally recognized choreographer, fusing Cambodian classical dance with other traditions while remaining true to the idiom’s fine technique and transcendent beauty. These projects include “Shir Ha Shirim,” a 2008 collaboration with American avant-garde composer John Zorn based on the Old Testament’s Song of Songs; “Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute,” commissioned by opera director and international impresario Peter Sellars for a 250th Mozart birthday celebration in 2006 in Vienna; and the 2005 “Seasons of Migrations.”

“The Lives of Giants” draws on a story from Reamker — the Cambodian version of the ancient Hindu epic “The Ramayana” — involving imperfect gods, mischievous angels and a giant who abuses his god-given powers.

The performances are part of a three-day residency that includes a workshop on classical Cambodian dance and a panel discussion on artists across the globe who address contemporary issues through their work. Both events are open to the public.

Cambodian classical dance brings together sculptural movement, shimmering costumes and ancient stories.

It is always performed to live accompaniment, usually, the cascading rhythms and scales of the pin peat, the gamelan-like ensemble that accompanies Cambodian classical dance. The art form dates back to the Angkor Empire of the eighth to 13th centuries, a society that also left the treasured Angkor Wat temple complex, whose bas reliefs depict dancers in poses still seen in classical dance.

“‘The Lives of Giants’ is an allegorical look at cycles of violence within societies,” writes Cheam Shapiro in program notes for the performance. “Violence begets violence. The abused become the abusers. Within Cambodian society, state-led terror and genocide of the recent past has fed contemporary epidemics of domestic violence and human trafficking. Nevertheless, I believe compassion is an antidote. When we acknowledge our own and our enemies’ humanity, we create room to step away from inhumane behavior.”

True to the tradition of Cambodian classical dance, the Hanovers shows will be performed with live music, in this case by two singers and four instrumentalists on xylophone, gong, drums and a four-reed oboe-like instrument called the sralai.

“The musicians and dancers follow each other,” said Margaret Lawrence, Hopkins Center programming director. “It’s impossible to say who’s following whom. The musicians are both giving fresh impulses to the dancers and are following them closely. When you see Cambodian classical dance, you’re entering a space where the musicians are playing as much for you as for the dancers.”

Tickets to “The Lives of Giants” at the Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hanover are $25-$37; $14-$16 for ages 18 and younger. For more information, call 646-2422 or log onto hop.dartmouth.edu.

Read More

Cambodian dance ensemble brings latest production to Hopkins Center for the Arts this month

The Lives of Giants” is more than a stage showcase of Cambodia classical dance styles.

It is a timely spotlight on decades-old atrocities, and the alleged perpetrators now facing a United Nations-backed court.

In the wake of reports last week that four Kymer Rouge leaders were formally charged by a United Nations-back court in Cambodia on charges of genocide, war crimes, murder and crimes against humanity, the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College in Hanover will present the Khmer Arts Ensemble’s 20 dancers and musicians in two programs based on Hindu creation myth and themes of abuse of power.

“(The Sept. 16) New York Times reported on the indictments of four alleged formal Khmer Rouge officials, all in their 70s and 80s, an all-too-slight event in the longdelayed and blunted effort to bring leaders of this 1970s atrocity to justice,” said Rebecca Bailey, publicity coordinator for the Hopkins Center.

“This is precisely the sort of secrecy and reluctance to examine itself that Cambodian choreographer Sophiline Cheam Shapiro has brought to light through her acclaimed work, particularly the newest piece, “The Lives of Giants,” which will be presented to Granite State audiences Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 28 and 29,” Bailey said.

Just eight when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, Cheam Shapiro spent four years in a forced-labor camp.

During that time, Pol Pot’s brutal regime almost managed to wipe out centuries of Cambodian arts, she said. From 1975 to 1979, he led a genocide that nearly obliterated the intelligentsia, with the Khmer Rouge killing off an estimated 90 percent of the country’s artists, classical dancers included.

“After the regime was overthrown by the Vietnamese in 1979, surviving dancers gathered to try to rebuild what had been an oral tradition, passed from teacher to student, over hundreds of years,” Bailey said. “When the Royal University of Fine Arts reopened in the 1980s, Cheam Shapiro became a member of its first graduating class. She was a member of the dance faculty there from 1988 to 1991, when she immigrated to the United States.”

Settling in Long Beach, Calif., home to the largest Cambodian community outside of Southeast Asia, she began teaching dance and established what in 2002 became the KAE, now based in both Long Beach and Takhmao, Cambodia, just outside Phnom Penh. The ensemble is part of a larger organization, Khmer Arts, devoted to training a new generation in the ancient art form.

Since then Cheam Shapiro has emerged as an internationally recognized choreographer, fusing Cambodian classical dance with other traditions while remaining true to the idiom’s fine technique and transcendent beauty. These projects include “Shir Ha Shirim,” a 2008 collaboration with American avant-garde composer John Zorn based on the Old Testament’s Song of Songs; “Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute,” commissioned by opera director and international impresario Peter Sellars for a 250th Mozart birthday celebration in 2006 in Vienna; and the 2005 “Seasons of Migrations.”

“The Lives of Giants” draws on a story from Reamker — the Cambodian version of the ancient Hindu epic “The Ramayana” — involving imperfect gods, mischievous angels and a giant who abuses his god-given powers.

The performances are part of a three-day residency that includes a workshop on classical Cambodian dance and a panel discussion on artists across the globe who address contemporary issues through their work. Both events are open to the public.

Cambodian classical dance brings together sculptural movement, shimmering costumes and ancient stories.

It is always performed to live accompaniment, usually, the cascading rhythms and scales of the pin peat, the gamelan-like ensemble that accompanies Cambodian classical dance. The art form dates back to the Angkor Empire of the eighth to 13th centuries, a society that also left the treasured Angkor Wat temple complex, whose bas reliefs depict dancers in poses still seen in classical dance.

“‘The Lives of Giants’ is an allegorical look at cycles of violence within societies,” writes Cheam Shapiro in program notes for the performance. “Violence begets violence. The abused become the abusers. Within Cambodian society, state-led terror and genocide of the recent past has fed contemporary epidemics of domestic violence and human trafficking. Nevertheless, I believe compassion is an antidote. When we acknowledge our own and our enemies’ humanity, we create room to step away from inhumane behavior.”

True to the tradition of Cambodian classical dance, the Hanovers shows will be performed with live music, in this case by two singers and four instrumentalists on xylophone, gong, drums and a four-reed oboe-like instrument called the sralai.

“The musicians and dancers follow each other,” said Margaret Lawrence, Hopkins Center programming director. “It’s impossible to say who’s following whom. The musicians are both giving fresh impulses to the dancers and are following them closely. When you see Cambodian classical dance, you’re entering a space where the musicians are playing as much for you as for the dancers.”

Tickets to “The Lives of Giants” at the Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hanover are $25-$37; $14-$16 for ages 18 and younger. For more information, call 646-2422 or log onto hop.dartmouth.edu.

Read More

A rare find [-Rare Khmer artefacts to return to Cambodia]

BODY OF WORK: Douglas Latchford, above, in his Bangkok apartment. Below, one of his rare Khmer items.


RED RAMPAGE: Tyres were set on fire right below Douglas Latchford’s Bangkok apartment.
PHOTOS: PORNPROM SATRABHAYA

He's a collector of ancient artefacts, and also has an interest in bodybuilding, but his passion is Khmer art

12/09/2010
Alan Parkhouse
Bangkok Post

Long-time Bangkok resident Douglas Latchford is already the biggest contributor to the National Museum of Cambodia, and now he's planning to donate more rare ancient Khmer artefacts. Mr Latchford has been collecting Khmer stone sculptures and works in bronze and gold for the past 54 years, and is not only one of the world's leading experts on Khmer artefacts, but also a generous donor to Cambodia's main museum.

He recently donated US$190,000 (about six million baht) to the museum to install new lighting.

"In June last year we had a presentation to the Phnom Penh museum and I collected $190,000 to change the lighting in the museum - it hadn't been changed since the 1940s," he said.

"There were wires hanging loose and there was no neon lighting. I collected the money from several donors and I gave some pieces to the museum, and deputy prime minister Sok An came and made a speech and gave me a Khmer title, Neak Okhna, a Royal title.

"The old lighting was just big florescent lights in the ceiling that didn't highlight any of the works there. Now there are spotlights and proper lighting so people can appreciate and see the finer features of the works on display."

Later this year, to coincide with a new book he is publishing on bronze Khmer sculptures, Mr Latchford plans to donate four more ancient pieces of Cambodia's history to the museum.

One of the items he plans to donate is extremely rare - a finely detailed boat prow made of bronze, which is the only one of its kind ever found.

"These things fitted over the pointed wooden bow of the boat, and this particular one is also depicted in the stone relief on the south wall of the Bayon temple," he said. "It's a beautiful piece and the only boat prow of its kind ever found. It will be among the items I hand over somewhere between October this year and January next year when my new book is finally ready to publish."

Mr Latchford's love affair with Khmer sculpture started 54 years ago, and it shows no sign of fading - in fact, it's as solid as some of the rare pieces in his extensive collection. During an interview in his lavishly decorated apartment in central Bangkok, the Thai and Khmer-speaking Englishman spoke of his long association with Asian art. However, his love affair with sculptures started far from Phnom Penh.

"I lived in south India from 1951 to 1954 and I had an affinity towards Indian sculpture. I was born in India and lived there until I was 12 and was sent to England to study. There, during the war, I was subjected to books like Jungle Book by Kipling, and I found deserted temples in the jungle fascinating.

"At that time I started to really admire Indian bronzes, particularly those from the Chola period - they range from the ninth to 13th century. I came to Thailand in 1955 and was introduced to a dealer here called Connie Mangskau, and she was probably the most reliable dealer in Southeast Asian art, particularly Khmer and Thai.

"And through Connie I met Jim Thompson, and we became quite friendly."

Jim Thompson is the legendary American resident of Thailand credited with starting the Thai silk industry. He went missing in 1967 in Malaysia, and his body was never found. His disappearance led to almost as many conspiracy theories as the JFK assassination. To this day, shops selling Thai silk bearing the Jim Thompson name are some of the must-visited tourist places in Thailand.

"Jim had been collecting primarily Thai art, and in the collection there were a few Khmer pieces. I asked him where they came from, and he said Korat, Ayutthaya and Lop Buri. He used to go around the shops in Bangkok in an area they then called Nakhon Kasem, or thieves market, in an old part of Bangkok near Yaowarat, and I started to go there and look.

"I became seriously interested in about 1957 when I met a Frenchman called Francois, who was an adviser to American heiress Doris Duke, and he showed me this female stone torso, minus head, arms and feet, about 24 inches high. It had an immediate effect on me that would change my life.

''I was smitten by it, and Francois told me about an identical one for sale in the thieves market, so I went around the next day and bought it. That was my first sculpture. That was in about 1957. I still have it, but it's at my place in london.

''These days I have about 50 to 60 pieces in total.''

For many, collecting ancient artifacts is a business, and at times a very profitable one, but not for Mr Latchford . He made his money many years ago working for an English firm's Bangkok branch.

''We sold pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, chemicals, a bit of everything. I was the branch manager here in Bangkok, and that's what I started off doing. We were one of the first big foreign firms importing goods into this part of the world.

''The earliest big foreign companies here were Barrow Brown and the Borneo Company, then Anglo Thai started. I was sent here to be their assistant manager.

''The first place I lived in Bangkok was where the Australian Embassy now is. It was a three-storey apartment building belonging to a prince. I lived there for five years. There were two apartment buildings in Bangkok then _ the one I lived in where the Australian Embassy is now, and if you turned down Soi Suan Phlu there was another one just around the corner from Sathorn Road. The second one belonged to another prince.''

Mr Latchford now lives on Soi Chidlom in the heart of Bangkok on land he bought many years ago. ''When I first bought this block of land my Thai friends wanted to know why I bought property in a slum area,'' he said. ''They don't say that any more.''

The only drawback to living in the heart of the capital city happened earlier this year. ''The red shirts set up a big barricade of tyres on the bridge over the canal outside my place and parked a big truck in the middle of the road. They told my neighbours the truck was full of explosives.

''The day the army moved on them they set fire to the tyres and the truck, so my driver and chef grabbed a fire hose and went out and fought the fire. Then they came under fire from the red shirts, then the army troops started shooting back, so my guys had bullets going over their heads from in front of them and from behind them. They bravely stood their ground and put out the fires.''

Mr Latchford not only collects artworks, it seems he's also quite good at collecting passports.

''I took out Thai citizenship 36 years ago. My daughter and my bodybuilder chef talked to two priests some time back, independent of each other, and both of the priests indicated that in some previous life I was Khmer. It's strange _ one priest was in the south of Thailand and the other was in Surin, in the northeast.

''In June last year, before we had the presentation at the museum, I had some sweet people come up to my place and teach me Khmer for three months. This was so I could speak in Khmer at the ceremony. They came three times a week, and the speech was very good _ it lasted about five minutes and it was accepted by the minister of culture at the museum and by Sok An, the deputy prime minister.

''When I started speaking they looked kind of quizzical, but then they started nodding and laughing. After I gave the speech I said to Sok An that the two priests had said that I was previously Khmer, and I would like to be again. I told him I would like Khmer citizenship. And he's given it to me.

''After the speech Sok An got up out of his chair and came over, looked at me and shook hands, and said, 'you know, of course you can have Khmer citizenship'.''

Mr Latchford has been visiting Cambodia for many years, and has fond memories of his early journeys there.

''I went to Cambodia the first time in about 1961, to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and it was wonderful then. The Angkor complex then was completely void of tourists. We stayed at the Grand and Royal, but to get around the complex we had to take motorcycles. It was great fun and there were virtually no tourists at all.

''And in 1968 I went back with a group of two couples and we drove from Bangkok to Sisophon and then Siem Reap, and when we got there, there was a mix-up with the hotel and there was nowhere to stay. The Grand was not viable, but there was a little bungalow, or chalet, nearby that was owned by (King) Sihanouk.

''It was suggested that we go and ask if we could stay there as it was vacant, and we drove around there and there was just the guard, and we asked him if we could stay, and he said yes. So we ended up with three bedrooms and a swimming pool. That place has now been bought by the Amanpuri and it now has a new name and is $1,000 a day. The hotel there now is wonderful.''

When asked about the trade in stolen Khmer artefacts, Mr Latchford said the story had been blown out of proportion.

''Not true. As far as I know, going back before my time, some Khmer sculptures have come into Thailand, but that has nothing to do with the Khmer Rouge at all. The trade is not what the media has made it out to be. It is true that some pieces were stolen, but not necessarily from Angkor Wat.

''It is true that some of the temples there had pieces stolen, but it wasn't on a large scale.''

The Khmer Rouge had little time for or appreciation of art, according to Mr Latchford.

''During the Khmer Rouge days, I heard that the guy in charge of the museum just locked the doors and put sandbags in the doorway and left, and I don't believe it was touched. They emptied Phnom Penh in two days, so I guess there was hardly anybody there. ''There were reports that people had vandalised the museum from 1975-80, but when I went there after 1980 _ at the time the Vietnamese were controlling Phnom Penh _ and I went to the museum and everything was as it was. It was fine. I mean, it was a bit dusty and moldy, but nothing had been stolen and nothing had been damaged.''

One of the sprightly 80-something-year-old's biggest concerns these days is the amount of fake artefacts making their way on to markets. And as usual, he has done his research.

''There is a lot of fake stuff getting about. That's true. In fact, I inquired today where the fakes are being made in Cambodia. There are a lot of fakes coming through on a continual basis and I found out this morning that there are two main areas where pieces are being faked, around Siem Reap in umpur (district) Dong Bak and in Sisophon, in an area called umpur Sinopur.

''These are places where pieces are now being made in bronze and particularly stone. Only small amounts of bronzes, but the stone items are coming through in great quantity. You can see them in shops all around Bangkok. The quality of the workmanship is getting better.''

When asked if it's getting harder to pick the fakes, Mr Latchford replied with a smile: ''It depends on who is doing it. But they are getting better and nobody is infallible. To make stone appear to be old, they generally sand-blast it first to give it a weathered look. Then they will heat it _ I've seen this being done. They start a charcoal fire, then put the piece on a wire above the fire to dry it, to take all the moisture out if it.

''Then they immerse it in a bath of liquid, which contains chemicals, acid and colouring. The stone is dry so it will absorb the chemicals and colouring to give it that aged look. What you have to do is to take a very small chip of the stone from the base or somewhere it won't be noticed and test it, and if it contains chemicals and acid and colouring, it's a fake.''

The oldest Khmer piece Mr Latchford has is from the 7th century. ''I found it in New York in a private collection. I had been trying to get it for 20 years. They had it for six years before I got it. It is now in London.''

When asked where the piece originated from, Mr Latchford simply said: ''The ground. When I buy a piece, on principal I thoroughly research it. I have many reference books and I carefully search for any recorded photographs of a piece to see if has been displayed in a museum, a collection or recorded anywhere else. I certainly don't want to buy a piece that has been stolen or anything.

''Most of the pieces I have come across in the past years have been excavated, or dug up. You know, there is a farmer in the field who digs something up, and he probably thinks if I take it to Bangkok or Singapore or a middle man I can get $100 instead of getting $10.''

Although Bangkok has been his home for many years, the veteran of the art world is considering a move to Cambodia.

''You know, if I didn't live in Bangkok I would very much like to live in Cambodia. In fact, I thought of buying a piece of land in Siem Reap. A friend of mine has bought an old Khmer house in Siem Reap and done it up, and has now bought a second one. He visited me last month and I asked him if he'd consider selling me the first one. He said we can talk about it. They're all teak and very open, and beautiful. Phnom Penh is lovely too.''

Mr Latchford's big collection of artefacts is spread around several sites.

''I have some on loan to the Denver Museum and I have some in storage because there's nowhere to put it. I also have some in my London apartment, and I have some here, in Bangkok. But I collect not just Khmer, I collect Tibetan, Nepalese, Indian and Suvichai, which was a maritime state that existed in the 8th century, but there's no one capital of Suvichai as such.'' Suvichai art is found in Java and in Sumatra, Borneo, Cambodia and Thailand.

''They were a maritime state, so they just shipped from port to port. Some of their art is very beautiful.''

His dealings in the art world have led him to some interesting characters.

''I collect, but it's not a business. From time to time a better piece will become available, so I have to upgrade to get a better piece. (Tycoon John D.) Rockefeller did the same thing. I met him and I had a piece once that he'd seen a picture of and when I was in New York once he asked to see me.

''He asked me if I would consider an exchange, and I said 'no'. My piece was better.''

Mr Latchford now spends most of his time in Bangkok, but travels to London about three times every year. And he has a rather unusual interest for an art dealer. ''One of the things I do as a hobby is to help the Thai Bodybuilding Association. I've done that for about 5-6 years now.

''One of the Thais has been world champion three times now. We had the Asian Championships earlier this year in Iran and my chef, who looks after my diet, won the gold medal in his class.

''I was elected as president for Asia earlier this year. I am also the president of the Thai Bodybuilding Association.

''So now I run Southeast Asia and Asia. I'm a Thai citizen, so I am allowed by law to hold these positions.''

However, Mr Latchford is a heavyweight in his own right when it comes to Khmer art, and he's travelled the world to admire it.

''Khmer art is on display in many cities around the world _ in Australia, in Canberra, in England the British museum have maybe three or four pieces. The main collections are in New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles County and Pasadena. There is alot in America. And in France.''

And soon there will be more in the National Museum of Cambodia.

Read More

A rare find [-Rare Khmer artefacts to return to Cambodia]

BODY OF WORK: Douglas Latchford, above, in his Bangkok apartment. Below, one of his rare Khmer items.


RED RAMPAGE: Tyres were set on fire right below Douglas Latchford’s Bangkok apartment.
PHOTOS: PORNPROM SATRABHAYA

He's a collector of ancient artefacts, and also has an interest in bodybuilding, but his passion is Khmer art

12/09/2010
Alan Parkhouse
Bangkok Post

Long-time Bangkok resident Douglas Latchford is already the biggest contributor to the National Museum of Cambodia, and now he's planning to donate more rare ancient Khmer artefacts. Mr Latchford has been collecting Khmer stone sculptures and works in bronze and gold for the past 54 years, and is not only one of the world's leading experts on Khmer artefacts, but also a generous donor to Cambodia's main museum.

He recently donated US$190,000 (about six million baht) to the museum to install new lighting.

"In June last year we had a presentation to the Phnom Penh museum and I collected $190,000 to change the lighting in the museum - it hadn't been changed since the 1940s," he said.

"There were wires hanging loose and there was no neon lighting. I collected the money from several donors and I gave some pieces to the museum, and deputy prime minister Sok An came and made a speech and gave me a Khmer title, Neak Okhna, a Royal title.

"The old lighting was just big florescent lights in the ceiling that didn't highlight any of the works there. Now there are spotlights and proper lighting so people can appreciate and see the finer features of the works on display."

Later this year, to coincide with a new book he is publishing on bronze Khmer sculptures, Mr Latchford plans to donate four more ancient pieces of Cambodia's history to the museum.

One of the items he plans to donate is extremely rare - a finely detailed boat prow made of bronze, which is the only one of its kind ever found.

"These things fitted over the pointed wooden bow of the boat, and this particular one is also depicted in the stone relief on the south wall of the Bayon temple," he said. "It's a beautiful piece and the only boat prow of its kind ever found. It will be among the items I hand over somewhere between October this year and January next year when my new book is finally ready to publish."

Mr Latchford's love affair with Khmer sculpture started 54 years ago, and it shows no sign of fading - in fact, it's as solid as some of the rare pieces in his extensive collection. During an interview in his lavishly decorated apartment in central Bangkok, the Thai and Khmer-speaking Englishman spoke of his long association with Asian art. However, his love affair with sculptures started far from Phnom Penh.

"I lived in south India from 1951 to 1954 and I had an affinity towards Indian sculpture. I was born in India and lived there until I was 12 and was sent to England to study. There, during the war, I was subjected to books like Jungle Book by Kipling, and I found deserted temples in the jungle fascinating.

"At that time I started to really admire Indian bronzes, particularly those from the Chola period - they range from the ninth to 13th century. I came to Thailand in 1955 and was introduced to a dealer here called Connie Mangskau, and she was probably the most reliable dealer in Southeast Asian art, particularly Khmer and Thai.

"And through Connie I met Jim Thompson, and we became quite friendly."

Jim Thompson is the legendary American resident of Thailand credited with starting the Thai silk industry. He went missing in 1967 in Malaysia, and his body was never found. His disappearance led to almost as many conspiracy theories as the JFK assassination. To this day, shops selling Thai silk bearing the Jim Thompson name are some of the must-visited tourist places in Thailand.

"Jim had been collecting primarily Thai art, and in the collection there were a few Khmer pieces. I asked him where they came from, and he said Korat, Ayutthaya and Lop Buri. He used to go around the shops in Bangkok in an area they then called Nakhon Kasem, or thieves market, in an old part of Bangkok near Yaowarat, and I started to go there and look.

"I became seriously interested in about 1957 when I met a Frenchman called Francois, who was an adviser to American heiress Doris Duke, and he showed me this female stone torso, minus head, arms and feet, about 24 inches high. It had an immediate effect on me that would change my life.

''I was smitten by it, and Francois told me about an identical one for sale in the thieves market, so I went around the next day and bought it. That was my first sculpture. That was in about 1957. I still have it, but it's at my place in london.

''These days I have about 50 to 60 pieces in total.''

For many, collecting ancient artifacts is a business, and at times a very profitable one, but not for Mr Latchford . He made his money many years ago working for an English firm's Bangkok branch.

''We sold pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, chemicals, a bit of everything. I was the branch manager here in Bangkok, and that's what I started off doing. We were one of the first big foreign firms importing goods into this part of the world.

''The earliest big foreign companies here were Barrow Brown and the Borneo Company, then Anglo Thai started. I was sent here to be their assistant manager.

''The first place I lived in Bangkok was where the Australian Embassy now is. It was a three-storey apartment building belonging to a prince. I lived there for five years. There were two apartment buildings in Bangkok then _ the one I lived in where the Australian Embassy is now, and if you turned down Soi Suan Phlu there was another one just around the corner from Sathorn Road. The second one belonged to another prince.''

Mr Latchford now lives on Soi Chidlom in the heart of Bangkok on land he bought many years ago. ''When I first bought this block of land my Thai friends wanted to know why I bought property in a slum area,'' he said. ''They don't say that any more.''

The only drawback to living in the heart of the capital city happened earlier this year. ''The red shirts set up a big barricade of tyres on the bridge over the canal outside my place and parked a big truck in the middle of the road. They told my neighbours the truck was full of explosives.

''The day the army moved on them they set fire to the tyres and the truck, so my driver and chef grabbed a fire hose and went out and fought the fire. Then they came under fire from the red shirts, then the army troops started shooting back, so my guys had bullets going over their heads from in front of them and from behind them. They bravely stood their ground and put out the fires.''

Mr Latchford not only collects artworks, it seems he's also quite good at collecting passports.

''I took out Thai citizenship 36 years ago. My daughter and my bodybuilder chef talked to two priests some time back, independent of each other, and both of the priests indicated that in some previous life I was Khmer. It's strange _ one priest was in the south of Thailand and the other was in Surin, in the northeast.

''In June last year, before we had the presentation at the museum, I had some sweet people come up to my place and teach me Khmer for three months. This was so I could speak in Khmer at the ceremony. They came three times a week, and the speech was very good _ it lasted about five minutes and it was accepted by the minister of culture at the museum and by Sok An, the deputy prime minister.

''When I started speaking they looked kind of quizzical, but then they started nodding and laughing. After I gave the speech I said to Sok An that the two priests had said that I was previously Khmer, and I would like to be again. I told him I would like Khmer citizenship. And he's given it to me.

''After the speech Sok An got up out of his chair and came over, looked at me and shook hands, and said, 'you know, of course you can have Khmer citizenship'.''

Mr Latchford has been visiting Cambodia for many years, and has fond memories of his early journeys there.

''I went to Cambodia the first time in about 1961, to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and it was wonderful then. The Angkor complex then was completely void of tourists. We stayed at the Grand and Royal, but to get around the complex we had to take motorcycles. It was great fun and there were virtually no tourists at all.

''And in 1968 I went back with a group of two couples and we drove from Bangkok to Sisophon and then Siem Reap, and when we got there, there was a mix-up with the hotel and there was nowhere to stay. The Grand was not viable, but there was a little bungalow, or chalet, nearby that was owned by (King) Sihanouk.

''It was suggested that we go and ask if we could stay there as it was vacant, and we drove around there and there was just the guard, and we asked him if we could stay, and he said yes. So we ended up with three bedrooms and a swimming pool. That place has now been bought by the Amanpuri and it now has a new name and is $1,000 a day. The hotel there now is wonderful.''

When asked about the trade in stolen Khmer artefacts, Mr Latchford said the story had been blown out of proportion.

''Not true. As far as I know, going back before my time, some Khmer sculptures have come into Thailand, but that has nothing to do with the Khmer Rouge at all. The trade is not what the media has made it out to be. It is true that some pieces were stolen, but not necessarily from Angkor Wat.

''It is true that some of the temples there had pieces stolen, but it wasn't on a large scale.''

The Khmer Rouge had little time for or appreciation of art, according to Mr Latchford.

''During the Khmer Rouge days, I heard that the guy in charge of the museum just locked the doors and put sandbags in the doorway and left, and I don't believe it was touched. They emptied Phnom Penh in two days, so I guess there was hardly anybody there. ''There were reports that people had vandalised the museum from 1975-80, but when I went there after 1980 _ at the time the Vietnamese were controlling Phnom Penh _ and I went to the museum and everything was as it was. It was fine. I mean, it was a bit dusty and moldy, but nothing had been stolen and nothing had been damaged.''

One of the sprightly 80-something-year-old's biggest concerns these days is the amount of fake artefacts making their way on to markets. And as usual, he has done his research.

''There is a lot of fake stuff getting about. That's true. In fact, I inquired today where the fakes are being made in Cambodia. There are a lot of fakes coming through on a continual basis and I found out this morning that there are two main areas where pieces are being faked, around Siem Reap in umpur (district) Dong Bak and in Sisophon, in an area called umpur Sinopur.

''These are places where pieces are now being made in bronze and particularly stone. Only small amounts of bronzes, but the stone items are coming through in great quantity. You can see them in shops all around Bangkok. The quality of the workmanship is getting better.''

When asked if it's getting harder to pick the fakes, Mr Latchford replied with a smile: ''It depends on who is doing it. But they are getting better and nobody is infallible. To make stone appear to be old, they generally sand-blast it first to give it a weathered look. Then they will heat it _ I've seen this being done. They start a charcoal fire, then put the piece on a wire above the fire to dry it, to take all the moisture out if it.

''Then they immerse it in a bath of liquid, which contains chemicals, acid and colouring. The stone is dry so it will absorb the chemicals and colouring to give it that aged look. What you have to do is to take a very small chip of the stone from the base or somewhere it won't be noticed and test it, and if it contains chemicals and acid and colouring, it's a fake.''

The oldest Khmer piece Mr Latchford has is from the 7th century. ''I found it in New York in a private collection. I had been trying to get it for 20 years. They had it for six years before I got it. It is now in London.''

When asked where the piece originated from, Mr Latchford simply said: ''The ground. When I buy a piece, on principal I thoroughly research it. I have many reference books and I carefully search for any recorded photographs of a piece to see if has been displayed in a museum, a collection or recorded anywhere else. I certainly don't want to buy a piece that has been stolen or anything.

''Most of the pieces I have come across in the past years have been excavated, or dug up. You know, there is a farmer in the field who digs something up, and he probably thinks if I take it to Bangkok or Singapore or a middle man I can get $100 instead of getting $10.''

Although Bangkok has been his home for many years, the veteran of the art world is considering a move to Cambodia.

''You know, if I didn't live in Bangkok I would very much like to live in Cambodia. In fact, I thought of buying a piece of land in Siem Reap. A friend of mine has bought an old Khmer house in Siem Reap and done it up, and has now bought a second one. He visited me last month and I asked him if he'd consider selling me the first one. He said we can talk about it. They're all teak and very open, and beautiful. Phnom Penh is lovely too.''

Mr Latchford's big collection of artefacts is spread around several sites.

''I have some on loan to the Denver Museum and I have some in storage because there's nowhere to put it. I also have some in my London apartment, and I have some here, in Bangkok. But I collect not just Khmer, I collect Tibetan, Nepalese, Indian and Suvichai, which was a maritime state that existed in the 8th century, but there's no one capital of Suvichai as such.'' Suvichai art is found in Java and in Sumatra, Borneo, Cambodia and Thailand.

''They were a maritime state, so they just shipped from port to port. Some of their art is very beautiful.''

His dealings in the art world have led him to some interesting characters.

''I collect, but it's not a business. From time to time a better piece will become available, so I have to upgrade to get a better piece. (Tycoon John D.) Rockefeller did the same thing. I met him and I had a piece once that he'd seen a picture of and when I was in New York once he asked to see me.

''He asked me if I would consider an exchange, and I said 'no'. My piece was better.''

Mr Latchford now spends most of his time in Bangkok, but travels to London about three times every year. And he has a rather unusual interest for an art dealer. ''One of the things I do as a hobby is to help the Thai Bodybuilding Association. I've done that for about 5-6 years now.

''One of the Thais has been world champion three times now. We had the Asian Championships earlier this year in Iran and my chef, who looks after my diet, won the gold medal in his class.

''I was elected as president for Asia earlier this year. I am also the president of the Thai Bodybuilding Association.

''So now I run Southeast Asia and Asia. I'm a Thai citizen, so I am allowed by law to hold these positions.''

However, Mr Latchford is a heavyweight in his own right when it comes to Khmer art, and he's travelled the world to admire it.

''Khmer art is on display in many cities around the world _ in Australia, in Canberra, in England the British museum have maybe three or four pieces. The main collections are in New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles County and Pasadena. There is alot in America. And in France.''

And soon there will be more in the National Museum of Cambodia.

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