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[restitution matters]

RM* Blog

So far, Jos van Beurden has written most of the blog posts. But the latest posts also feature the voices of others.

RM* would like to give these others more space. 

Anyone interested in publishing a blog post can send a proposal to the RM* editors. The requirements are:

  • a blog contains between 700 and 1.400 words.
  • a blog offers new insights or information.
  • a blog is academically sound ánd accessible.
  • a blog has no footnotes but provide links at the end to the sources that have been consulted.
  • a blog needs some photos are. 
  • the editors decide whether a blog will be posted.

 

We are looking forward to your reactions.

Dedicated to a mask, its maker and first users

Jos van Beurden

Long ago, I held this Congolese mask in my hands. The dealer claimed it to be very old; he was keen to sell it. But unlike other wooden pieces, which he offered for little money, he asked a big sum for this one. Perhaps, it was indeed old and valuable. Back then, the mask struck a chord with me. Nowadays, it still does.

What is the status of restitution in Italy?

By

The colonial collections in public museums and the private sector in Italy are not less substantial than elsewhere in Europe. Italy has made some significant returns. Nevertheless, this blog argues that the country is much better at reclaiming its own stolen relics than at accepting the consequences of the investigations into its colonial collections.

Asymmetrical Relations: Restitution issues between Japan and South Korea

By

The restitution issue of cultural properties from Japan to South Korea has a long history. Back from a visit to South Korea, Eisei Kurimoto (National Institutes for the Humanities, Japan) concludes that this history still is being characterized by one dominant element: asymmetry. While in South Korea, it is an important national matter, the interest in Japan has been very low. Japanese governments consider it a ‘settled case’ and the issue is rarely publicly argued. To initiate change, joint provenance research projects could cultivate trust and friendship between stakeholders of both countries. 

What is so remarkable about the Dutch return of fossils to Indonesia?

By

On 26 September 2025, the Dutch government returned 28,000 fossils, including the famous skullcap, a molar, and a thighbone (the so-called Java Man), to Indonesia following an official claim submitted by the Indonesian state in July 2022. They were part of the collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Centre in Leiden. With this, the government followed the advice of the Colonial Collections Committee. Now that the dust about this massive return has begun to settle, it is time for some reflection. I consider the acceptance of the advice of the independent Colonial Collections Committee groundbreaking in several respects.

The La Galigo manuscript and ways of looking at repatriation

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‘The most valuable Buginese manuscript of La Galigo, is held at Leiden University Library’ in the Netherlands, the university proudly communicates. It has come from Makassar on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. For the Bugis who live there, it is an essential part of their history. But they have no access to it. A local group with academics, heritage professionals and activists in Makassar has begun to discuss its future. For them the repatriation of meaning is crucial. And this is only possible if the Dutch recognise their responsibility.

Japan is unjustly overlooked in the restitution-discussion

By

Restitutions of colonial loot by Japan to former colonial possessions? Yes, that has happened and is still happening: manuscripts and objects to South Korea and China, ancestral remains to groups within Japan’s own borders. News about it is quite rare. What is actually known about the colonial collections and restitution practice of this former colonial power in the Far East?

[ French version ] French government’s framework law on restitution: Where is the spirit of Macron’s 2017 Ouagadougou speech?

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[ in French ] Projet de loi du gouvernement français sur les restitutions : qu’est-il advenu de l’esprit du discours à Ouagadougou de Macron en 2017 ?

La France suit-elle la voie tracée par la Belgique en matière de restitution ?

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[ French translation ] La France débat actuellement de la création d’un cadre juridique pour la restitution des collections publiques historiques, principalement d’origine coloniale. La Belgique dispose déjà d’une telle loi. Ce court article propose une comparaison entre les deux dispositifs – la loi belge et le projet de loi français – en se concentrant sur trois points : • l’approche centrée sur l’État, • le champ d’application, • la procédure de restitution.

Is France Following Belgium’s Lead in Restitution Law?

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This blog compares the two frameworks - the Belgian law and the French draft-bill - focusing on three areas: • the state-centred approach • the scope of application • the restitution procedure

French government’s framework law on restitution: Where is the spirit of Macron’s 2017 Ouagadougou speech?

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[ in English and in French ] The French government has proposed a restitution law. After Belgium, it is the second former European colonial power to do so. Such a law streamlines restitution procedures and offers former colonies more clarity and even legal certainty. This blog discusses the draft-bill and examines whether countries of origin will benefit much from it.

Colonial collections and restitution: The case of Portugal (interim report)

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For a long time, the debate on decolonisation in Portugal, including the restitution of colonial collections, was limited to art, activist and academic circles. Only recently is it gaining more public attention. Portugal's lack of a national policy should not obscure initiatives at other levels. These are very important for pushing the topic into the public debate and may act as forerunners for a national policy in the future.

Exhibition Dakar-Djibouti – Counter Investigations in Paris: One step missing! (+ comment)

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An exhibition in the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris dives into the French Dakar–Djibouti Expedition (1931-1933), one of the most iconic ethnographic missions in the colonial period. The museum’s head curator was helped by other French scientists and experts from Senegal, Mali, the Republic of Benin and Ethiopia. The outcome is recommended. But why did I leave the exposition feeling empty, anyhow?

A looted trident as a test-case for the Indonesian-Dutch restitution relationship

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A diaspora group discovers an object in the Wereldmuseum Amsterdam’s collection that the village of origin in Indonesia dearly misses. As it belongs to the Dutch national collection, its return requires the signature of the minister of Education, Culture and Science. But he only signs if the Indonesian minister of Culture supports the claim. After return, the latter must decide whether to deviate from the policy that returned objects are kept at the Museum Nasional Indonesia in Jakarta. Only then can the object go back to its village of origin. An interim report about a journey whose outcome no one yet knows.

Community-initiatives and the need for social provenance research

By

European governments negotiate restitutions only with the governments of countries of origin. The collections they negotiate usually are state-owned and contain valuable, not rarely iconic objects. The path followed by governments of former colonies is quite similar. It is the path of what Laurajane Smith called the authorized heritage discourse (AHD), where only a limited part of a country’s heritage dominates in national narratives and public policies. This approach has serious limitations.

Private sector and restitution: Dealing with the dead

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On social media and in auction houses, there is a lively trade in ancestral remains from colonial areas. Skulls, skeletons and other body parts regularly change hands. While this may be an acceptable practice for those involved, it is painful for many descendants of these dead.

Why is Nigeria succeeding in getting back Benin objects? How does the Netherlands manage to return so many objects?

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In both the Netherlands and Nigeria, there were political bumps in the road that could have hindered the return of the Benin collection. In Nigeria, those bumps were the most difficult to overcome. Despite the joy on both sides, some uncomfortable questions remain.

Private sector and restitution: What happens when an art dealer wants to return an object?

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Art dealers represent a wide range. Not only from large to small but also from purely commercial to commercial with ethics and open to restitution. For most, colonial collections is just one category among others. For only few is it a primary concern.

Private sector and restitution: Voluntary returns of war booty

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Sometimes, descendants of Europeans no longer want to keep the objects, manuscripts or ancestral remains, which they inherited. The items have lost their significance. They take up too much space. The descendants want to make some money out of it. Or they feel these items belong more in their country of origin. Descendants use different ways to get rid of them.

Private sector and restitution: a closed bulwark

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Why is research into colonial collections in the private sector - I mean art dealers, auction houses and private collectors - so tough? The main reasons is that most of them have built a wall around themselves, and there is rarely a hole in this wall through which an outside observer can look inside their closed bulwark.

Private sector and restitution: Hidden war booty

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During the European expansion constant fighting and violence and the taking of spoils of war went hand-in-hand. Palaces, shrines, homesteads and entire villages were plundered and destroyed. In the restitution debate, the focus is mostly on state-collections resulting from these confrontations. There is ample evidence, however, that many more parties were involved. This blogpost has some of the evidence.

Private sector and restitution: Foggy relationship art trade – museums

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Once, The Art Newspaper called the historical relationships of the art trade with museums a ‘foggy world’. That was in 2016. I dare say the relationship of trade with museums still is very foggy. How does this relationship look like?

Dedicated to a mask, its maker and first users

By

Long ago, I held this Congolese mask in my hands. The dealer claimed it to be very old; he was keen to sell it. But unlike other wooden pieces, which he offered for little money, he asked a big sum for this one. Perhaps, it was indeed old and valuable. Back then, the mask struck a chord with me. Nowadays, it still does.
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