Independent investigation into objects with a colonial background in the Royal Collections of the Netherlands now complete

The board, comprising Queen Máxima (chair), Peter Schoon and Laetitia Griffith, is deeply grateful to the committee.  Queen Máxima said, ‘We are grateful for the thorough, independent research conducted by the committee chaired by Prof. Ekkart. We endorse its conclusions and are pleased to adopt all its recommendations. A careful approach to the colonial items within the Royal Collections is of vital importance. A solid foundation has now been laid for this. In the coming months and years, building on the committee’s recommendations, we will continue to work on enhancing the accessibility of available information on objects acquired in colonial contexts. Transparency is a prerequisite for an open dialogue with stakeholders from the countries of origin.’

The investigation is intended to make a meaningful contribution to the responsible handling of colonial collections and the redress of historical injustices.  His Majesty the King and Her Majesty Queen Máxima feel a strong sense of responsibility for the lawful and ethical management of objects within the Royal Collections and attach great importance to independent research.  

Although the SHVON collection is a private collection, not a national one, efforts have been made to ensure that the recommendations align with national policy regarding colonial collections.  

Conclusions and recommendations 

Virtually the entire collection of colonial objects consists of gifts. For the vast majority of these gifts, although they were given in a context of unequal colonial relations, no direct indicators were found in the course of the research that they were presented under duress. In the case of a small number of the gifts, there is a possibility that their presence in the SHVON collection is illegitimate and/or unjust. These are objects that were taken by the donors as loot or are otherwise linked to military actions. Serious doubts exist as to whether the donation of the following objects was voluntary:

• A blunderbuss (historical firearm) belonging to Raden Intan, ruler of Keratuan Darah Putih (a kingdom in the province of Lampung), who was killed there by Dutch soldiers in 1856, after which this weapon was presented to King Willem III; 
• A round shield (Puerise awi) belonging to a military commander from Aceh, presumably captured in 1877 during the expedition to Samalanga and presented to King Willem III;
• A gold amulet necklace (Simplah), presented in 1909 by the district chiefs of Pidie and Meureudu (Aceh) to mark the birth of Princess Juliana, not long after hostilities.

The SHVON board shares the committee’s view that the question of the legitimacy and ethics of the presence of colonial objects in the Royal Collections cannot be answered unilaterally, but only in consultation with representatives of the former colonies. On the committee’s recommendation, SHVON will therefore make information from the investigation available digitally as soon as possible in order to achieve maximum transparency. To this end, the board has set aside funds and appointed a researcher. On the basis of shared knowledge of the collection, discussions can then be held with stakeholders from the countries of origin regarding the future of objects about which serious questions have arisen. 

To ensure that these potential discussions proceed smoothly, SHVON will seek expert advice. With the completion of the research, a new phase has now begun with respect to the handling of colonial objects within the Royal Collections.  

Investigation 

The investigation focused on objects of colonial origin still present in the collections, including items on loan, in some cases long-term loan, to museums. It thus covered over a thousand objects, mainly from Indonesia, Suriname and the Caribbean islands, as well as a few objects from former colonies of other powers. Almost all the objects still present were acquired through donation. In the case of the former Dutch East Indies, these were gifts from local rulers, private individuals and civic groups, as well as from colonial administrative officials and military personnel.

Committee and researcher

The committee members are: 

• Professor Rudi Ekkart (chair), art historian and former director of the RKD, the Netherlands Institute for Art History. He was also a professor of art history at Utrecht University and has chaired various investigative committees on the provenance of artwork stolen during the Second World War.
• Professor Valika Smeulders, head of the History Department at the Rijksmuseum and professor by special appointment of Museums, Heritage and Religion at the University of Groningen. She was a member of the Advisory Committee on the National Policy Framework for Colonial Collections and the Council for Culture, and conducted research into the treatment of colonial heritage and the history of slavery in the Netherlands, Suriname, Curaçao, Ghana and South Africa.
• Dr Martin Bossenbroek, historian, former director of collections and services at the National Library of the Netherlands and former senior university lecturer in Public History at Utrecht University. He has authored various books on subjects such as the Dutch East Indies, including De wraak van Diponegoro. Begin en einde van Nederlands-Indië (The revenge of Diponegoro: the beginning and end of the Dutch East Indies), in which he discusses the Java War and the decolonisation war.

The committee appointed the researcher Simone van Wijk to carry out the investigation starting on 1 May 2024.  She has been asked to follow up on her research by overseeing the online publication of the results, as of 1 June 2026.

House of Orange-Nassau Historic Collections Trust (SHVON)

The Royal Collections manage the cultural and historical heritage of the House of Orange-Nassau on behalf of the King and make it accessible to a wide audience.  They conserve, manage, preserve, restore and provide access to the collections and archives entrusted to them by various private organisations. One of these organisations, SHVON, is principally concerned with lending objects to museums in the Netherlands and abroad. The collections are also made accessible to the public and researchers, including online access.

Government Information Service, no. 159

*The full report will be available in English shortly

Download photos