Jos van Beurden

Abstract:

Current Developments in the Netherlands: Advice on a National Policy Framework for Colonial Collections

The Advice, which the Dutch Council for Culture published at the request of the Dutch minister for Culture in October 2020, argues that in colonial times many cultural objects came to the Netherlands against the will of their owners. This historical injustice is visible in the colonial collections that can still be seen in Dutch museums. The Netherlands must recognize this injustice and declare itself prepared to rectify it as much as possible. Cultural goods looted in former Dutch colonies must, after thorough provenance research, be unconditionally returned if the country of origin so requests.

This contribution makes three comments on the Advice: The impact of composition of the Advisory Committee; Potential and limitations of provenance research, as depicted in the Advice; The European perspective in the Advice.

Biobibliography:

Dr. Jos van Beurden has studied (colonial) collections and restitution issues since the early 1990s and is a senior researcher, affiliated to the Free University of Amsterdam. His pioneering study ‘Treasures in Trusted Hands – Negotiating the Future of Colonial Cultural Objects’ (Leiden 2017) was nominated for the NWO Boekman Dissertation Price.

Jos van Beurden has been running the mailing list and a FB-page ‘RM* [restitution matters]’ with news about his research topic. Currently, he is finishing a book on this issue in the Netherlands and Belgium (forthcoming in 2021).