Another tranche of sculptures which were part of Douglas Latchford’s personal collection from his home in London is expected to arrive in Cambodia soon. Let’s hope they include this rare bronze finial of Krishna Kaliya, which was memorialized in the glossy catalogue, Khmer Bronzes: New Interpretations of the Past, published in 2011 and authored by Latchford and Emma Bunker. Dated to the twelfth century, it was credited to the Skanda Trust collection, of which no less than 80 other bronzes were also included in the book. The ultra-secretive Trust in fact turned out to be Latchford’s own offshore trust in Jersey, and was subsequently exposed by the Pandora Papers, which were obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with The Washington Post and other media outlets around the globe in late 2021, a year after Latchford’s death. His daughter, Julia Copleston, has promised to return his private collection of stone, bronze and jewelry artifacts to Cambodia, some of which have already been sent back, with more awaited. Also known by his Thai name Pakpong Kriangsak, Latchford began his fascination for Khmer art in 1955 with his first purchase, he told Apollo magazine in an interview. That set him on a path over the next six decades as the Bangkok-based mastermind behind the pillage of Cambodia’s sacred temples and subsequent trafficking of thousands of Khmer artworks in stone or bronze, around the world to private collectors, museums and auction houses.
The evocation of the Krishna subduing Kaliya myth is popular in Khmer reliefs on lintels at a number of the larger temples such as Preah Vihear, Angkor Wat, Baphuon, Banteay Samre and many more. Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu and is best known for lifting Mount Govardhana, but as a young hero, he saved the locals from the multi-headed serpent Kaliya, dancing and splitting the heads of the snake, who he banished from the kingdom, courtesy of his compassionate nature. This is exactly the scene we see on our bronze finial, with our bejeweled hero holding onto the eight-headed snake in dominant pose, though with only one leg on view at the front, he must be astride his foe. This finial was intended to fit on the end of a pole, either on a chariot shaft or decorating the carrying pole of a palanquin. Produced by the lost-wax process, finials were also affixed to the top of a battle standard carried during a procession, ceremony or into battle. Small bronzes of Garuda, Hanuman (the monkey god), lions and such like, representing important deities or figures from the epic poems like the Reamker, were made in large quantities for use at temples and domestic shrines, as well as for military purposes. I’ve also included a picture of a strikingly similar Krishna Kaliya finial, which Nancy Wiener, an accomplice of Latchford’s in his nefarious dealings, tried to sell at the 2007 New York Asia Week auctions.
Credit By:Andy Brouwer
