Cultural objects returned to country of origin Indonesia again

The Netherlands is returning 288 objects from the National Collection at the request of Indonesia. During the colonial period, these objects, of cultural significance to Indonesia, were wrongfully taken to the Netherlands.

Minister Eppo Bruins (OCW) has decided on the return. In doing so, he is following advice from the Colonial Collections Committee chaired by Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You. The works are currently in the collection of the World Museum. Intensive cooperation between experts and institutions in the field of museums, collections and research has taken place for this restitution.

Minister Bruins: "This is the second time we are returning objects that should never have been in the Netherlands based on advice from the Colonial Collections Committee. In the colonial period, looting and other forms of involuntary loss of possession of cultural objects often occurred. Returning these objects is material restoration of justice.''

This is the second set of recommendations by the Colonial Collections Committee. In summer 2023, the first objects were returned to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. With this return, the OCW minister is continuing the course set.
The following objects are involved:Four Hindu Buddhist statues, namely statues of Bhairava, Nandi, Ganesha and Brahma from Java brought to the Netherlands in the first half of the 19th century.
284 objects from the Puputan Badung Collection. This collection includes objects such as weapons, coins, jewellery and textiles that were taken to the Netherlands after a war against the principalities of Badung and Tabanan in South Bali in 1906 and eventually entered the World Museum collection.

The handover to Indonesia will take place on 20 September at Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, in the presence of Indonesia's director-general of culture Hilmar Farid and the Indonesian repatriasi committee.

The Colonial Collections Committee advised the minister to return these objects on the basis of provenance research by the World Museum, in accordance with the colonial collections policy. This advice came about in close dialogue and cooperation with the Indonesian repatriasi committee and other experts. It shows that bilateral relations between the Netherlands and Indonesia are strong in the cultural field.

The Commission published its opinions at her website. The Commission is currently preparing opinions on requests from Nigeria, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia.