The Tale of Two Stones: Reuniting Khmer Fragments From Prasat Phanom Rung

This article traces the intertwined stories of two Khmer architectural fragments from Prasat Phanom Rung, northeast Thailand, formerly held by the Art Institute of Chicago: (1) the well-known reclining Viṣṇu lintel repatriated amid controversy in 1988, and (2) a Kr̥ṣṇa pilaster deaccessioned more recently in 2024. Drawing on archival research, stylistic and iconographic analysis, material study, and on-site verification, this article demonstrates that both fragments originally framed the same doorway and belonged to a broader Vaiṣṇava sculptural ensemble now dispersed among other U.S. museum collections. Their parallel trajectories from Thailand to North America in the 1960s illuminate persistent challenges in provenance research, correct earlier misattributions, and underscore the ethical imperative, when possible, of reunifying displaced sacred sculpture with its original architectural and cultural context.