A stone Buddha head believed to date back to the 15th century has returned to Laos from Japan after it was stolen and discovered for sale at an antique shop.
The stone head, measuring 55cm by 33cm by 40cm, arrived at Vat Phou Champassak in Champassak province on Sunday after first being found in Japan in early 2012.
A Buddhist ceremony takes place at Chokokuji temple in Tokyo, Japan, before the Buddha head is returned to Laos.
A handover ceremony was held at Chokokuji temple in Tokyo on September 6, in which President of the organisation Green Heart, Ms Masae Suzuki, presented the Buddha head to Champassak provincial Deputy Governor, Dr Bounthong Divixay.
Dr Bounthong said the artefact was an ancient object that held great cultural value for Laos.
“It now resides at the Vat Phou Champassak museum where experts are studying it in detail,” he said.
According to Dr Bounthong a Japanese person bought the head from an unknown seller to display in her antique shop at the beginning of 2012.
One day a person visiting the shop told the owner she was in possession of a sacred artefact, and later another person told her about a dream they had had about the importance of returning the head.
The shop-owner was concerned, could not sleep well and became disconcerted by the atmosphere she sensed in her shop.
She approached the Lao Consul in Nakoya about returning the stone Buddha head to Vat Phou Champassak, believed to be its original home.
Dr Bounthong said Champassak authorities received word from the Lao Embassy in Japan that the Japanese people would return the artefact in June this year.
He said this was the third ancient object that had been stolen and returned to Vat Phou Champassak.
In each case, the person in possession of the stolen item had been disturbed by odd feelings and felt compelled to ensure its safe return.
Vat Phou World Heritage Site Office Head, Mr Khankham Kaenboudta, said the Buddha head was likely to be from the 15th century, as many artefacts at the site were, but it would be studied in further detail.
“Many valuable objects have been lost and we have never got them back,” he said .
Lao Ambassador to Japan, Mr Khenethong Nuanthasing, thanked the Japanese government for its assistance in returning the Buddha head to its rightful home.
Mr Khenethong, a representative of the Lao Consulate in Nakoya, officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and several Buddhist monks attended the handover ceremony in Tokyo.
A separate ceremony was held at the Lao Embassy in Japan before the stone head began its trip home.
