Netherlands set to return treasures looted from Sri Lanka, Indonesia in colonial period

A range of jewellery, precious metals and a richly decorated cannon are set to be returned by the Netherlands, as part of hundreds of cultural artefacts and art which were looted in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, both former Dutch colonies.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Culture in The Hague stated that most of these artefacts are culturally significant and highly valuable.

Dutch state secretary for Culture and Media Gunay Uslu said, “This is a historic moment. It’s the first time we’re following the recommendations of the committee to give back objects that should never have been brought to the Netherlands. But we are not just returning objects. We are actually starting a period in which we are more intensively cooperating with Indonesia and Sri Lanka."

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The decision taken of returning around 478 objects was taken after considering the government-appointed commission's recommendations last year, which talked about the illegal Dutch colonial acquisitions that have now been put on display in museums of the Netherlands.

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Uslu stated that they acted upon the recommendations which were stated in a report published by the Dutch committee in 2020, which was investigating the artefacts stolen during the colonial era.

The government was appealed by the committee to be "willing to return unconditionally" any cultural artefacts looted in former Dutch colonies if asked by the source country.

"The Netherlands must assume responsibility for its colonial past by making the recognition and redress of this injustice a key principle of the policy on colonial collections," the report stated.

The commission was established on the basis of a request received by Indonesia to return the natural history collections and art pieces from its former colonial ruler.

Loots of Dutches

Some of the valuable objects which will be returned include "Lombok treasure", a collection of hundreds of precious stones, silver objects and goldlooted by the Dutch colonial army from the island of Lombok, Indonesia in 1894. The government returned a part of this treasure to Indonesia in 1977.

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Another highlight from the stolen artefacts is the Cannon of Kandy which will also be returned to Sri Lanka. The ceremonial weapon has been made using silver, gold, bronze, inlaid with rubies.

The barrel, which is decorated with King of Kandy's symbols, is believed to have been looted by the Dutches in 1765. The piece has been a part of the Rijksmuseum's collection since 1800. This week, a ceremony has been planned to officially return the looted artefacts to Indonesia.

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