The Met Leave Arca Surocolo, Indonesia Locks The Momentum Of Great Repatriation

JAKARTA - The effort to repatriate Indonesian culture has entered an important stage. Minister of Culture Fadli Zon ensured that the United States immediately repatriated statue Surocolo, a small bronze artifact that had been stored in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met). This certainty was conveyed after the Menbud dialogue with the Indonesian Consul General of New York, Winanto Adi, at the Ministry of Culture Building, Friday (14/11).

"In the near future we will receive a number of cultural heritage objects from the United States. This is a continuation of the repatriation of six bronze statues and one statue that was previously returned by the New York authorities," said Fadli. He emphasized that the return of Surocolo statues is a real step in restoring cultural sovereignty.

Arca Surocolo is an important case because The Met itself contacted the Indonesian government after finding similarities in collections with missing artifacts. This opens a new veil of repatriation. The Met proactively comes, checks its origins, and states it is ready to return it," said Fadli.

Konjen Winanto Adi called The Met's openness a significant development. "The Director of The Met came to the Indonesian Consulate General and then to Borobudur to ensure progress. This is where the new dialogue opens," he said. He also reported five other artifacts including two bronze statues during the Sriwijaya era and a number of cities were being processed to be repatriated.

Winanto explained that this repatriation was the fruit of the New York antique smuggling task force which since a decade ago confiscated thousands of Southeast Asian artifacts. US authorities are now actively investigating the origins of artifacts and consulting Indonesian experts.

Fadli emphasized that Surocolo's momentum must be continued. "The flow of cultural objects to the US has been around for a long time. With this precedent, we hope that big museums will start returning old collections obtained illegally," he said.

The meeting was also attended by the ranks of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the General Chairperson of the Indonesian Museum Association Putu Supadma Rudana. The government affirms its commitment to strengthening international cooperation to prevent smuggling and accelerate repatriation of Indonesian artifacts.