Indonesia has once again received the return of cultural heritage objects from the archipelago, repatriated by the Kingdom of the Netherlands through the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science of the Netherlands, represented by Eppo Bruins.
Previously held in the Netherlands, these cultural objects are being returned to Indonesia for the second time. The Kingdom of the Netherlands had repatriated cultural heritage items in mid-2023.
These historical artifacts were handed over at the Wereldmuseum in Amsterdam, where the objects had been stored and exhibited. A total of 288 cultural heritage items from the archipelago were formally handed over to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.
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According to an official written statement from the Dutch Embassy in Indonesia on Friday (20/9), this is the second repatriation of items that should never have been in the Netherlands.
The return of these cultural objects was also based on the recommendations of the Dutch Colonial Collections Committee, chaired by Lilian Goncalves-Ho Kang You.
The Government of Indonesia, represented by the Director-General of Culture from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Hilmar Farid, received the repatriated cultural heritage items.
Representatives from the Indonesian Repatriation Committee were also in attendance.
Previously, the Kingdom of the Netherlands had returned cultural heritage items from the archipelago in mid-2023. The second repatriation took place in September this year.
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The items returned by the Dutch government include weapons, jewelry, and coins, 284 of which are linked to the Puputan Badung event.
Additionally, four Hindu-Buddhist statues—Nandi, Bhairava, Ganesha, and Brahma—were also repatriated. These statues are believed to have been taken from Java in the early 19th century.
The repatriation process was carried out in cooperation with the Indonesian Repatriation Committee and experts with a special interest in these cultural objects.
The governments of both countries also coordinated and maintained good relations to ensure the smooth return of these cultural heritage items in this second repatriation process.
