Two museums in the Netherlands have agreed to return 500 looted artefacts to Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The museums claim that the objects were taken under duress or by looters during the Dutch East India Company's near-monopoly in the trade between Europe and the Spice Islands and the following colonial period. 

The repatriations include the Lombok treasure, consisting of 335 objects from Lombok in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, four statues from the Javan Hindu kingdom of Singasari, 165 objects of modern art from Bali, and from Sri Lanka, a cache of ceremonial weapons from the city-states of Kandy and a royal canon made of gold, silver, and rubies.

Dutch Secretary of State for Culture and Media Gunay Uslu announced the decision on Thursday after a 2020 report recommended that certain museum possessions be returned. Uslu said in a press statement, "It's the first time we're following recommendations… to give back objects that should never have been brought to the Netherlands. But more than anything, it's a moment to look to the future. We're not only returning objects; we're also embarking on a period of closer cooperation with Indonesia and Sri Lanka in areas like collection research, presentation, and exchanges between museums."

The transfer of ownership to Indonesia took place at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden on July 10th. The one for Sri Lanka will take place later this year. Repatriation of artifacts taken from around the world during the colonial periods has become a hotter and hotter issue as former colonies become richer and more stable, and objects like the Benin Bronzes or the Koh-i-noor diamond often find their way into news headlines.