Netherlands Will Return Hundreds of "Colonial Collections" to Indonesia

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - The Kingdom of Netherlands has announced they will return 472 objects which were taken from Indonesian regions during the colonial era. Among those "colonial collections" were a keris and more than 300 treasures from Lombok. 

This is not the first time Netherlands decides to return the artefacts to their rightful countries. In 2016, the Netherlands also returned 1,500 artefacts to Indonesia. 

According to the statement from the Dutch Embassy in Indonesia, Thursday (6/7/2023), the transfer of ownership to Indonesia will take place at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden on 10 July. 

The items that will be returned are the ‘Lombok treasure’, consisting of 335 objects from Lombok; four statues from Singasari; a keris from Klungkung; and  132 objects of modern art from Bali (Pita Maha collection). 

Klungkung is a region in Bali. Singasari was an ancient kingdom located in eastern Java.

"This is a historic moment”, said the Secretary of State for Culture and Media Gunay Uslu.

He said that the return of the objects was based on the recommendation from the Advisory Committee on the Return of Cultural Objects from Colonial Context.

“It’s the first time we’re following recommendations of the Committee to give back objects that should never have been brought to the Netherlands," Uslu stated.

After Indonesia, Netherlands will also return six objects to Sri Lanka.

Long Colonization

Those objects from Indonesia and Sri Lanka are currently in the collections of the National Museum of World Cultures and the Rijksmuseum. The Embassy said the Indonesian government is currently requesting for more items to be returned.

Sailors from the Netherlands came to Banten Port in the 1596 century under the leadership of Cornelis de Houtman. The website of the National Library (Perpustakaan Nasional) stated that Cornelis de Houtman was expelled because of rude attitude. 

But in 1598, people from the Netherlands started to return. The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) also commenced its operations in the archipelago at the beginning of the 16th century.

Since then, the Netherlands were involved in bloody conflicts against various kingdoms in Indonesian regions, before Japan expelled them during World War II.