JAKARTA, INDONESIA, September 20, 2024 (Independent Observer): The Kingdom of the Netherlands is returning hundreds of objects of Indonesian cultural value that have been kept in the country since the colonial era, based on the recommendation of the Dutch Colonial Collections Committee. The Dutch Education, Culture, and Science Minister Eppo Bruins explained that the repatriation of the cultural objects would be the second phase following the first repatriation of Indonesian and Sri Lankan cultural objects in mid-2023. “This is the second time we have returned objects that should never have been in the Netherlands,” said Bruins in an official statement, Friday (20/9).

The handover of the cultural objects was carried out at the Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, where the cultural objects are stored and exhibited. Hilmar Farid, the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry’s director general of culture, represented the Indonesian government in the handover. Representatives from the Indonesian Repatriation Committee were also present. The repatriated cultural objects consist of 284 historical objects such as weapons, coins, and jewelry of Puputan Badung origin which were brought to the Netherlands by Dutch colonial troops after they conquered the kingdoms of Badung and Tabanan on the island of Bali in 1906. They were then kept and exhibited at the Wereldmuseum. In addition, there are four Hindu-Buddhist statues — Bhairava, Nandi, Ganesha and Brahma — which were taken from Java in the first half of the 19th century.

https://observerid.com/the-netherlands-returns-hundreds-of-cultural-artefacts-to-indonesia/

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