For the first time in its history, the Rijksmuseum returns objects to a former colony

For the first time in its history, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam will return some colonial-era objects from its collection. This first return involves six objects that will be repatriated to Sri Lanka this year. The objects in question are all eighteenth-century and are two sabers and a dagger dating from before 1765, two pistols from about 1724-1760, and the valuable Kandy Cannon, made before 1745.

It is a process that began in 2017, when the Rijksmuseum began its investigations into the provenance of colonial objects, working in collaboration with researchers in the countries of origin. 2019 saw the start of pilot research into the provenance of colonial-era objects. Initiated by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the research is a two-year partnership project involving the Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the National Museum of World Cultures (NMVW) and the Rijksmuseum. Its purpose was to conduct research to establish a framework and methodology for collaborative provenance research with the countries of origin of objects in the Dutch museum’s collections. Following Sri Lanka’s submission of a request for the return of the six objects, the decision to return them was made by the Dutch Secretary of State for Culture and Media, following the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the Return of Cultural Property from the Colonial Area.

One of the six items to be returned, as anticipated, is the famous Kandy Cannon: an 18th-century work, the cannon is made of bronze, silver and gold and is inlaid with rubies. The barrel is decorated with the symbols of the king of Kandy, an ancient Sri Lankan city: a sun, a crescent moon, and a Sinhalese lion. The cannon had a purely ceremonial function: it could be used to fire greeting shots that welcomed important visitors to the king. Dutch East India Company troops looted the cannon during the siege and sacking of Kandy in 1765. It was later given to William V, Prince of Orange, for his cabinet of curiosities in The Hague. It has been part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection since 1800.

“We appreciate the decision of the secretary of state,” comments Taco Dibbits, general director of the Rijksmuseum, “and we consider this return a positive step in cooperation with sri lanka. the relationship and knowledge exchanges built between the two nations in the field of research and common history form a solid basis for the future.”

Image: Canon of Kandy (pre-1745; bronze, silver, gold, rubies, wood)

For the first time in its history, the Rijksmuseum returns objects to a former colony

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