Hundreds of precious artefacts taken from Indonesia and Sri Lanka during the period of Dutch colonialism and to be returned to their home countries as part of efforts by The Netherlands to confront its past.
The BBC reports that among the collections to be handed back to Indonesia is the so-called ‘Lombok treasure’ – a trove of jewels, precious stones, gold and silver which was looted by the Dutch colonial army from a royal palace on Indonesia’s Lombok island in 1894.
A bronze cannon, thought to be exchanged as a gift between Sri Lankan aristocracy, will also be returned
Sri Lanka will take back a lavishly decorated 18th Century bronze cannon, currently on display at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. It is thought to have been a gift from a Sri Lankan aristocrat to the King of Kandy in the 1740s.
The BBC quotes Culture Minister Gunay Uslu as saying: ‘[This is] the first time that we are returning objects that should never have been in the Netherlands.’
Uslu added: ‘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.’
Last week, King Willem-Alexander formally apologised for the Netherlands’ role in the slave trade, saying he felt ‘personally and intensely’ affected.
The country became a major colonial power after the 17th Century, holding territories across the globe, and Dutch slave traders trafficked more than 600 000 people.
[Image: Dutch intervention in Lombok and Karangasem, 1894. J._Hoynck_van_Papendrecht_1858_1933, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10678749]