Netherlands Returns Hundreds Of Archipelago Cultural Objects To Indonesia

Archives - Minister of Education and Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Makarim, welcomed the return of four statues from the Kingdom of Singasari from the Netherlands to the country at the National Museum, Jakarta, on Tuesday (22/8/2023). (ANTARA/HO-Kemendikbudristek)

JAKARTA - The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has repatriated 288 objects of Indonesian culture that have existed in the Netherlands since the colonial era to the country, based on the recommendations of the Dutch Colonial Collection Committee.

According to the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Sciences Eppo Bruins, the repatriation of the cultural object will be the second following the first repatriation of the cultural objects of Indonesia and Sri Lanka in mid-2023.

"This is the second time we have returned objects that should never have been in the Netherlands," Bruins said, according to a written press statement by the Dutch Embassy reported by ANTARA, Friday, September 20.

The handover of 288 cultural objects was carried out on Friday local time in Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, where the cultural object was stored and exhibited.

The Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, Hilmar Farid, represented the Indonesian government in the handover. Also present were representatives from the Indonesian Repatriation Committee.

The cultural objects that were repatriated consisted of 284 historical objects such as weapons, coins, and jewelry related to Puputan Badung which were brought home by Dutch colonial troops after conquering the Badung and Tabanan Kingdoms on the island of Bali in 1906.

The cultural object was then exhibited at Wasldmuseum.

In addition, there are also four Hindu-Buddha statues, namely statues of mitigating, Nandi, Ganesha, and Brahma, which were brought to the Netherlands from Java in the first half of the 19th century.

"The return of these objects is important related to material recovery (for Indonesia)," said the Dutch Minister of Education.

The Dutch Colonial Collection Committee previously advised the Dutch Government to return the objects based on research on origins by Wereldmuseum and in accordance with national policies regarding the colonial collection.

The recommendations were compiled through dialogue and close cooperation with the Indonesian Repatriation Committee and related experts, and stakeholders from both countries continue to coordinate to ensure the smoothness of this second repatriation process.