via The Guardian, 08 October 2020: The Rijksmuseum and Tropenmuseum support a proposed programme to return properties seized during the colonial period. The examples cited in the article are from Indonesia: a diamond from the Sultan of Banjarmasin, and the recently-returned dagger of Prince Diponegoro.
Thousands of pieces of art deemed looted by Dutch colonialists could be returned to their country of origin after the Netherlands’ most famous museums backed a report proposing a wholesale “recognition and rectification of these injustices”.
The directors of the Rijksmuseum and Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam said they would support the proposal made on Tuesday for a legal structure for the return of an estimated 100,000 pieces where a claim for restitution could be made, with the emphasis on return where “involuntary loss” is identified.
Among the exhibits cited by the report from the Dutch Council of Culture as needing examination is a 70-carat diamond that belonged to the Sultan of Banjarmasin and was sent to the Netherlands after his land, now part of Indonesia, came under Dutch control at the end of the 19th century. The diamond is on display in the Rijksmuseum.
Source: Dutch museums vow to return art looted by colonialists | World news | The Guardian
