Netherlands to return hundreds of colonial objects to Indonesia and Sri Lanka

The Government of the Netherlands has announced that it is returning 479 objects of cultural significance to Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

The items were “wrongfully brought to the Netherlands” during the colonial period and acquired under duress or by looting, the government said in a statement this week.

The decision to return them was made by the Dutch culture secretary, Gunay Uslu, following recommendations from the government’s Advisory Committee on the Return of Cultural Objects from Colonial Context.

The works are currently in the collections of the National Museum of World Cultures, which manages three ethnographic museums, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The transfer of ownership to Indonesia will take place at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden on 10 July. The items being returned include 335 items from Lombok and 132 objects of modern art from Bali.

Indonesia

• The Lombok Treasure, consisting of 335 objects from Lombok
• Four statues from Singasari
• A keris from Klungkung
• 132 objects of modern art from Bali, known as the Pita Maha collection

Sri Lanka

• Cannon, before 1745, bronze, silver, gold, rubies, wood
  Two wall guns (gingals), ca. 1724-60, wood, iron, brass
  Two sabres (kasthānés), before 1765, wood, iron, silver, stone/wood, iron, gold, diamonds, rubies
  Knife (pihiya), before 1765, wood, iron, gold, rock-chrystal

The Rijksmuseum is to return six artefacts to Sri Lanka later this year, marking its first ever repatriation of colonial-era items.

These include two swords, two rifles, a dagger and the Cannon of Kandy, a famous ceremonial cannon decorated with precious stones, which was looted by the Dutch East India Company in 1765.

The Rijksmuseum began investigations into the provenance of colonial objects in 2017 and has been participating in a pilot project to establish a structure and methodology for provenance research in partnership with countries of origin.

The museum’s general director, Taco Dibbits, said: “We appreciate the secretary of state’s decision and regard this restitution as a positive step in cooperation with Sri Lanka. The relationship and exchanges of knowledge built up between the two nations in the fields of research and common history constitute a strong foundation for the future.”

Benin bronzes

The announcement comes as plans for returning hundreds of Benin bronzes from European collections to Nigeria have hit a stumbling block following a declaration by the country’s outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari, in March recognising the Oba, or king, of Benin state, Ewuare II, as the owner of the bronzes.

Previously, museums in Europe had been negotiating with the Nigerian government's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, and had signed contracts on the understanding that the bronzes would become part of the country’s national collection.

The declaration caused controversy in Germany, where the state of Saxony paused any new restitutions in order to clarify whether the Oba’s ownership would affect public access to the bronzes. However, the German culture minister has made clear that the repatriation of the items is unconditional and that "what happens to the bronzes now is for the current owner to decide".

In May, Cambridge University's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology postponed a planned handover of 116 artefacts as a result of the confusion. However the museum has made clear that the transfer of ownership will still go ahead in the near future.