A luxury magazine photo hid relics Cambodia says could be stolen
The homes of a billionaire family, featured in Architectural Digest, provide clues to Cambodian investigators seeking the recovery of lost artifacts
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/15/lindemann-cambodian-investigation-architectural-digest/
https://archive.ph/zPRh3
The January 2021 issue of
Architectural Digest featured a remodeled $42 million San Francisco residence described as a Spanish Renaissance Revival palacio.
Owned by a billionaires daughter and her husband, the home is theatrical and has been described, with good reason, as the most beautiful house in America, the luxury magazine said. Accompanying photos detailed its opulence mirrored pilasters, walls paneled with white onyx, remarkable views of the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge.
One particularly impressive image showed a two-story central courtyard with several empty pedestals off to one side. The pedestals werent actually empty, though: The photo had been altered. Another version, discovered by reporters on the website of the homes architect, shows ancient Khmer sculptures resting on the same pedestals.
The Cambodian government says those stone relics, depicting the heads of gods and demons, match a set that was looted years ago from one of the nations sacred sites. It is not known who modified the photo or for what reason, but experts interviewed for this story confirmed that the sculptures had been edited out of the magazine image.
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