The Netherlands joins several European countries that have begun to return items from colonial times to countries of origin in recent years, including France, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
The items that the Netherlands is now returning to Indonesia were in the collections of the 100-year-old Nusantara Museum, which in 2013 closed due to financial problems.
Initially, 12,000 items were offered to Indonesia, but the country's Ministry of Culture decided to accept only 1,500 items. The process of returning the objects was initiated as early as 2016. However, the work was delayed due to diplomatic and legal obstacles.
The collection consists of a variety of objects from ancient weapons to ceramics. The oldest object dates to the entire 5,000 BC. The youngest dates to 1940. In total, the entire collection is valued at EUR 1.1 million - equivalent to just over SEK 11.5 million.