Reassessing an Angkorian Bronze Masterpiece: The Male Deity from Ban Yang Pong Sadao, Buriram

An exceptionally rare and remarkably well-preserved 11th-century Khmer bronze statue of a male deity, formerly in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, was recently returned to Thailand. Moving beyond competing ownership claims and nationalist narratives, this article presents the results of an interdisciplinary scientific investigation into the statue’s life history and production. The findings place the image within the political, religious, and technological milieu of the Angkorian kingdom while underscoring the transregional character of Khmer bronze statuary. These results also offer a more nuanced understanding of the object’s historical, cultural, and artistic significance in both Thailand and Cambodia.