The US museum returned an ancient  statue of Hindu god Rama to  Cambodia on Monday. The  10th century statue was  stolen from Cambodia during the South East Asian country’s civil war in the 70s.

The  Denver Art Museum officials and  the Cambodia government completed the handover of the 62—inch—tall statue during a ceremony in Phnom Penh. The sandstone statue is called  “Torso of Rama.”  The Denver Art Museum acquired the statue 30 years ago from the Doris Weiner Gallery in New York City without its  head, arms and feet.

The museum’s director Christoph Heinrich said in a joint statement with the Cambodian government, that, “We were recently provided with verifiable evidence that was not available to us at the time of acquisition, and immediately began taking all appropriate steps for its return home.”

Cambodian official Yim Nolson said that, “We are joyful with the torso of Rama returning home,”  and appealed to museums and collectors across the world to “follow this good example by returning Rama’s head to Cambodia.”

Cambodia’s Secretary of State Chan Thani said in the statement that, it highlights “the government’s efforts to repatriate those artefacts that left the country illegally, which are parts of our soul as a nation.”

Nandini