Artifacts looted during colonial period returned to Sri Lanka and Indonesia

The Cannon of Kandy, shown in an undated photo provided by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The lavishly decorated cannon is among six pieces that the museum is returning to Sri Lanka; Dutch East India Company troops looted the cannon in 1765. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit the Rijksmuseum. Shared under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
The Cannon of Kandy, shown in an undated photo provided by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The lavishly decorated cannon is among six pieces that the museum is returning to Sri Lanka; Dutch East India Company troops looted the cannon in 1765. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit the Rijksmuseum. Shared under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
The Cannon of Kandy, shown in an undated photo provided by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The lavishly decorated cannon is among six pieces that the museum is returning to Sri Lanka; Dutch East India Company troops looted the cannon in 1765. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit the Rijksmuseum. Shared under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Two Dutch museums have handed over hundreds of cultural artifacts back to Indonesia and Sri Lanka – from a richly decorated cannon to precious metals and jewelry – that were taken, often by force, in the colonial era. The government announced the planned restitution of 478 “cultural objects” on July 6. Some Western nations are returning looted artifacts and other objects as part of a reckoning with their often brutal colonial histories.

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