Project Summary
“Cambodian Object Inventory Project”
Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts
GRANT AMOUNT: $29,800
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This grant will assist the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in its efforts to help secure collections of uninventoried archaeological artifacts by entering them in a newly created national inventory database. These artifacts, most of which were illegally excavated, have been seized by law enforcement authorities and are currently held in government storerooms outside Phnom Penh. Including them in the national inventory is a necessary first step towards insuring that they will not again be subject to theft and illicit trafficking.
The Ministry has so far implemented an inventory of archaeological artifacts stored at various places in Phnom Penh, its vicinity provinces, and the storerooms for the Angkor Park. This grant will allow the Ministry to add artifacts held in other locations to the database. This inventory system begins with paper records and digital photographs, which are then brought together in a computerized database. The information stored in the database includes:
a. Photographs of each artifact from different angles
b. Weight
c. Height
d. Raw materials utilized to make artifact
e. Condition of artifact
f. Possible source of artifact
g. Date
h. Art style
i. Description of artifact
PROJECT SIGNIFICANCE
At present there are approximately 2000 artifacts in the database. There are, however, approximately 3000 uninventoried artifacts in Cambodia. Based on past experiences, there is reason to fear that these storerooms could be looted and the artifacts smuggled out of Cambodia and entered into the international antiquities market. This grant will help these items be inventoried, thereby helping to protect them.
Programs and Events
Cambodian Object Inventory Project
Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts
Grant Amount: $29,800
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This grant will assist the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in its efforts to help secure collections of uninventoried archaeological artifacts by entering them in a newly created national inventory database. These artifacts, most of which were illegally excavated, have been seized by law enforcement authorities and are currently held in government storerooms outside Phnom Penh. Including them in the national inventory is a necessary first step towards insuring that they will not again be subject to theft and illicit trafficking.
The Ministry has so far implemented an inventory of archaeological artifacts stored at various places in Phnom Penh, its vicinity provinces, and the storerooms for the Angkor Park. This grant will allow the Ministry to add artifacts held in other locations to the database. This inventory system begins with paper records and digital photographs, which are then brought together in a computerized database. The information stored in the database includes:
- Photographs of each artifact from different angles
- Weight
- Height
- Raw materials utilized to make artifact
- Condition of artifact
- Possible source of artifact
- Date
- Art style
- Description of artifact
PROJECT SIGNIFICANCE
At present there are approximately 2000 artifacts in the database. There are, however, approximately 3000 uninventoried artifacts in Cambodia. Based on past experiences, there is reason to fear that these storerooms could be looted and the artifacts smuggled out of Cambodia and entered into the international antiquities market. This grant will help these items be inventoried, thereby helping to protect them.