Restitution
Involuntary loss of possession
In cases of involuntary loss of possession, objects may be returned to their previous owners through a process known as ‘restitution’. In 2022, the Dutch State adopted formal procedures for handling requests for restitution. The Rijksmuseum restituted the first objects within a colonial context, including six weapons, to Sri Lanka in 2023.
Property of the Dutch state
All objects in the Rijksmuseum collection are owned by the Dutch State rather than the museum itself; the museum serves solely as their custodian. Decisions regarding restitution therefore lie with the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, and not with the Rijksmuseum. The museum is, however, responsible for conducting provenance research on colonial objects. Ideally, we carry out this work in close collaboration with the countries of origin, because this makes it possible to combine expertise on the historical and cultural context with information about transfers between owners and collections.
New Policy
In 2022, the Dutch House of Representatives introduced the new procedures by approving the Policy Framework for Collections with a Colonial Background (Beleidsvisie collecties uit een koloniale context). It establishes a protocol through which a country of origin can submit a restitution request, after which the independent Colonial Collections Committee tasks museums with supplying a provenance report – this report then serves as the basis for the committee’s recommendations to the relevant government minister regarding possible restitution. If it is concluded that there has been an involuntary loss of possession, the object or objects in question are unconditionally returned to the country of origin
Six objects returned to Sri Lanka
After reviewing provenance research in 2023, the Colonial Collections Committee recommended returning six objects from the Rijksmuseum collection to Sri Lanka. The government minister concerned with this matter followed this advice, and by the end of that year the six objects were on display for the Sri Lankan public at the National Museum of Colombo. After more than two-and-a-half centuries, a richly decorated cannon, a gold sabre, a silver sabre, a dagger and two rifles had returned home. This was the first restitution from the Rijksmuseum collection within a colonial context.
War booty from Kandy
All six weapons share a similar provenance, having been seized by Dutch troops during the war against the Kingdom of Kandy (in Sri Lanka) in 1765. Having captured the city of Kandy and plundered the royal palaces and temples, the Dutch sent some of its war booty to the Netherlands. There, it entered the collection of William V, Prince of Orange, and, through the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities, ultimately became part of the Rijksmuseum collection.
Cannon of Lewke
The most striking of the six objects was the small and richly decorated cannon, which was manufactured in the Netherlands and shipped to Sri Lanka at the end of the 17th century. There, in 1745–46, Lewke Dissawe exquisitely decorated the cannon using gold, silver and rubies. It was then presented to the King of Kandy. Following the plundering of the city in 1765, the cannon fell into the hands of Van Eck, the Dutch colonial governor. It was then shipped to the Netherlands, where the cannon’s Sri Lankan provenance was forgotten. For a long time it was known as Michiel de Ruyter’s Cannon. Since 2023, it can once again be admired in Colombo, where it now bears title Lewke’s Cannon.
