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O.C. vet’s stranded antiquities are finally going home

January 24, 2026

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop. You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated….

Thai antiquities from Ban Chiang that Trevor Murphy is trying to get repatriated to Thailand. This bangle shows human bones. (Courtesy Murphy)

One might assume that the wisdom of Thomas Palmer, Confucius and Maya Angelou inspired the Laguna Beach fiduciary to persevere in his quixotic mission. After a year-and-a-half — countless emails, myriad phone calls, kindly suggestions from readers on getting official attention — we’re most pleased to report that the stranded Ban Chiang antiquities will finally be going home to Thailand.

In July 2024, we told you about the travails of Trevor Murphy, the fiduciary trying to fulfill the last wish of his client. The late gent, an Orange County veteran, became fascinated with archaeology while serving in Vietnam in the 1970s. He amassed a not-inconsequential collection of Ban Chiang antiquities, including a bronze bangle still containing bones from the arm it once rested on.

Thai antiquities from Ban Chiang that Trevor Murphy is trying to get repatriated to Thailand. (Courtesy Murphy)

The items were lovingly displayed behind glass in the man’s Orange County home. As the years went by, though, he became uneasy with his collection. The Indiana Jones era was gone. The ethics of Western collecting had come into unflattering relief and he asked that, upon his death, those items return to Thailand.

Simple, right?

Ha!

These days, it’s a no-no to possess such items. So Murphy had to do a lot of explaining to Homeland Security. And the American Embassy. And the Thai Embassy. And the Thai Consulate. To universities here and abroad, to cultural officials here and abroad… oh, the list goes on.

But in December, Murphy met face-to-face with officials at the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles. They agreed that the antiquities will be inspected and shipped to Thailand in early February (via the Consulate’s preferred courier, at the estate’s expense); and that Murphy will be at an official handover ceremony at the National Museum Bangkok later that month.

“When I began this quest over a year and a half ago, I had no idea that it would take this long to get to this point,” Murphy said. “There were actually times where I felt this just was not going to happen. I had even considered just packing up the antiquities in my carry-on luggage, and transporting them through in a more clandestine way. But then I would come to my senses and remember that these are Ban Chiang artifacts, and are among the most protected objects on earth.”

Thai antiquities from Ban Chiang that Trevor Murphy is trying to get repatriated to Thailand. (Courtesy Murphy)

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Thai antiquities from Ban Chiang that Trevor Murphy is trying to get repatriated to Thailand. (Courtesy Murphy)

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His client’s wish — to repatriate the objects and honor Thailand’s cultural heritage — rang always in his ears. “It was one of the last things he ever asked me to do,” Murphy said. “So I just felt like I had to persevere. One more email, one more phone call; just keep staying out in front of the people in the US Homeland Security Investigations Unit, and also the Thai officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who can make it happen.

“Eventually, the clouds parted, the stars aligned, and here we are.”

Those clouds, officials explain, had the best intentions.

To thwart narco-smuggling and antiquities trafficking — and to prosecute criminals — the governments of the U.S. and Thailand had agreed that U.S. Homeland Security Investigations would probe all Thai antiquities cases for potential wrongdoing. People contacting the Thai Embassy and/or consulates asking to repatriate objects — people like Murphy — would be referred to U.S. HSI for the full treatment.

“Thailand and the Consulate had to make sure we will not provide safe passage for the criminals to get away with what they have done in the past, ” said Tor Saralamba, Consul-General of Thailand to Los Angeles.

U.S. Homeland Security has been a bit busy these days, as you may or may not have noticed. Thai antiquities cases apparently haven’t been high on its to-do list.

Consul-General of Thailand in Los Angeles Tor Saralamba attends Jim Thompson's soiree celebrating HBO series "The White Lotus" at the Dawnridge Estate in Beverly Hills, California, April 24, 2025. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images) — Consul-General of Thailand in Los Angeles Tor Saralamba attends Jim Thompson’s soiree celebrating HBO series “The White Lotus” at the Dawnridge Estate in Beverly Hills, California, April 24, 2025. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Now, officials have agreed that the full-on U.S. HSI treatment probably isn’t necessary for each and every single repatriation request, especially for collections of smaller objects such as this one. In such cases, the Royal Thai Consulate will consult directly with Homeland Security and the Ministry of Culture back home; if it’s determined that the objects are innocent, so to speak, and truly from Thailand, they can be returned with fewer hurdles.

Larger/more valuable/high profile pieces will still be subject to thorough investigation, however, Saralamba said.

“That’s the new guideline. I’m very happy that we reached this common understanding with HSI so that we can proceed with the fifty pieces that will be returned to Thailand soon,” he said. “We will be very happy to receive them. It’s really special to have the antiquities returned to the homeland.”

A receipt for Thai antiquities from Ban Chiang that Trevor Murphy is trying to get repatriated to Thailand. (Courtesy Murphy)

Ban Chiang was discovered in 1966, and UNESCO considers it the most important prehistoric settlement in Southeast Asia. The site revealed a complex agricultural society dating back millennia, fundamentally rewriting Southeast Asian prehistory, the scholars say. Excavations found evidence of settled farming, including rice; metalworking with bronze tools; animal domestication; and unique burial practices. The site dates back to the Bronze Age some 3,500 years ago, and features unique, red-painted pottery.

The O.C. vet’s collection includes dozens of clay pots and finely painted vases, beads of stone and glass, bronze bells and rattles and bracelets and necklaces. There’s even a mold to make metal axe heads, a skill some archaeologists argued didn’t exist in Thailand 3,500 years ago. He bought the items from antique stores: “Chai Dwahat Antiques,” one of the original receipts says. “All Ban Chiang. 17 pieces….All guarantee 4,500-5,600 years old. 4th March, 1972.”

Thomas Edison had many misses inventing the lightbulb. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” he’s credited with saying. Albert Einstein attributed his success not to innate intelligence, but to staying with problems longer. Confucius said that our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

In “Finding Nemo” it was expressed this way: “Just keep swimming.”

May this be a lesson, and inspiration, for us all.

O.C. vet’s stranded antiquities are finally going home Orange County Register

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