Netherlands Returns Historic Objects: There Are Kanday Sri Lanka Cannons To Indonesian Lombok Gold, How Is Prince Diponegoro's Horse Confinement Rope?

The Cannon of Kandy Sri Lanka. (Source: Rijksmuseum)

JAKARTA - The Dutch government announced plans to return hundreds of historical objects, ranging from cannons decorated with luxury jewelry and metals to gold-silver objects that were forcibly taken during the colonial period, to Indonesia and Sri Langka.

A total of about 478 cultural objects will be returned by the Netherlands to the two countries, according to an announcement made on Thursday.

"This is a historic moment. This is the first time, on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee for Returning Cultural Objects from the Colonial Context, we are returning objects that should never have existed in the Netherlands," said State Minister for Culture and Media Gunay Uslu, quoted by the Associated Press on July 7.

"This recommendation is a milestone in dealing with collections from the colonial context," Uslu said as quoted by DW from AFP.

The committee was formed after a request from Indonesia to restore several works of art and natural historical collections from the former Dutch colonial rulers.

One of the highlights of the loot that will be returned to Sri Lanka is Meriam Kandy, a ceremonial weapon made of bronze, silver, and gold, and tahan rubi. Not only that, the barrel is decorated with the symbol of King Kandy: sun, half a month and the Sinhala lion.

The "Meriam Lewke" from the 18th century is believed to be a gift from a Sri Lankan royal named Lewke Disava to King Kandy around 1745-46.

The cannon has been a collection of Rijksmuseum, art museum and national history since 1800. According to the museum, the cannon was looted by Dutch East East Indies Company forces during Kanday's siege and looting in 1765.

Apart from Meriam Kandy, another historic object to be returned is Lombok's "treasure of Lombok" consisting of hundreds of gold and silver objects, which were looted by Dutch colonial soldiers, after seizing the Cakranegara Palace on the island of Lombok in 1894.

Direktur Rijksmuseum Taco Dibbits menyebut keputusan untuk mengembalikan meriam dan lima barang lainnya sebagai "langkah positif bekerja sama dengan Sri Lanka."

"The relationship and the exchange of knowledge built between the two countries in the field of research and history together is a strong foundation for the future," he added in a statement.

In addition to the current return, the committee in question will also make decisions about other future artifacts, public broadcaster NOS said.

This includes works of art from Nigeria and also a collection of Dubois which includes the horseshoe of Prince Diponegoro, an Indonesian hero who opposed Dutch colonial rule in the 19th century.

It is known that the Dutch King Willem-Alexander previously issued a historic royal apology for the Dutch involvement in slavery in the colonial era.