HONOLULU, April 25, 2002: Two ancient sculptures stolen from a temple in Cambodia during the civil unrest of the 1970s and donated to the Honolulu Academy of Arts are back in their homeland. The 9th century, 15-inch stone head of Lord Siva and a 12th century, 19-inch head of a deva were flown from Honolulu on Tuesday and are expected to be presented during ceremonies Friday in Phnom Penh. After reading an article in a 1996 publication on looting in the Angkor area of Cambodia and extensive research, the academy confirmed that the two sculptures were among those stolen. George Ellis, director of the academy, and a group of about 25 academy officials and members accompanied the artifacts on the Cambodia flight.
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