The “Lombok Treasure”, looted by Dutch soldiers in 1894, is returned to Indonesia. It includes a bronze cannon with precious stones and a looted jewellery cache from the «treasure of Lombok».
A report had urged the government to return items if countries request it.
The agreed return comes as the Netherlands increasingly confronts its colonial past.
Other countries have also started to return valuable looted items in recent years. Notable examples are British and German museums for signing away some of the so-called Benin Bronzes. They were stolen from Nigeria during a large-scale British military campaign in 1897.
“This is the first time we are returning objects that should never have been in the Netherlands.” Said Minister of Culture Gunay Uslu.
A bronze cannon, believed to have been exchanged as a gift between the Sri Lankan aristocracy, will also be returned.
“But we don't just return objects. So we are actually starting a period in which we are working more intensively with Indonesia and Sri Lanka.”
Also among the collections that will return to Indonesia is the “treasure of Lombok”. That is a treasure trove of jewellery, gems, gold and silver. It was looted by the Dutch colonial army from a royal palace on the Indonesian island of Lombok in 1894.
Sri Lanka will also get back a richly decorated 18th century bronze cannon. Today it is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It was probably a gift from a Sri Lankan aristocrat to the King of Kandy in the 1740s.
The cannon is believed to have fallen into Dutch hands in 1765. That's when Dutch troops attacked the kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka.
Culture Minister Uslu said the government is acting in line with recommendations made in a 2020 report by a Dutch commission. The committee was investigating art removed during the colonial era.
The committee urged the government to be “willing to unconditionally return” any cultural artefacts. That is, objects looted in the former Dutch colonies, if the country of origin so requests.
“The Netherlands must take responsibility for its colonial past. Making recognition and redress of this injustice a key principle of colonial collections policy,” the report says.
The country has been struggling with its heritage more openly in recent years.
King Willem-Alexander formally apologised for the role of the Netherlands in the slave trade. Saying he felt “personally and strongly” affected.
The country became a major colonial power after the 17th century. It held territories all over the world, and Dutch slave traders trafficked more than 600,000 people.
Source: bbc.com
