[HN Gopher] An Art Crime for the Ages
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       An Art Crime for the Ages
        
       Author : prismatic
       Score  : 36 points
       Date   : 2022-06-30 05:37 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.bloomberg.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.bloomberg.com)
        
       | headsoup wrote:
       | Fascinating. I don't know how anyone could say they're not doing
       | anything wrong when selling artefacts they pay peanuts for
       | physical retrieval of, to then on-sell for a fortune.
        
         | IIAOPSW wrote:
         | I'll steelman it. In the context of the Khemer Rogue and the
         | wonton destruction of anything seen as _cosmopolitan_ (eg,
         | art), laundering it into foreign collections is a great way to
         | prevent its destruction. And those  "peanuts" you're paying the
         | looters are actually quite valuable in a famine. The Cambodian
         | government that came after that was obviously not nearly as
         | bad, but it was still lacking in political stability and the
         | old guard was still there as an insurgency for many years.
         | 
         | Look at how many cultural items ended up destroyed by the
         | Revolutionary Guard in China's cultural revolution. If only
         | Latchford had been there to loot them, they could be on their
         | way back to China right now!
        
           | whizzter wrote:
           | Except most of the looting was done after the Khmer Rogue was
           | out of power.
           | 
           | Sure, they were still fighting as guerillas, but as such they
           | probably had no real priority in destroying statues.
        
       | vanattab wrote:
       | It's a long piece but very well written!
        
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