The Netherlands is returning a further 288 artifacts to Indonesia which, the culture ministry says, were “wrongly taken during the colonial era”.

The objects, which were part of the national collection, will be handed over on Friday at the Wereldmuseum in Amsterdam. The Dutch presence in what was then the Dutch East Indies started in 1800 and ended when Indonesia proclaimed independence in 1945.

Among the objects are four statues of Hindu and Buddhist deities which were taken from Java in the first half of the 19th century. Other spoils included weapons, coins, jewellery and textiles which were brought to the Netherlands in 1906 following a battle against the local rulers on Bali.

Culture minister Eppo Bruins said the request from the Indonesian government and the subsequent recommendation of the Colonial Collections Committee could not be ignored.

“These objects should never have been here…There was looting and pillaging going on in the colonial period, and other types on involuntary loss of cultural objects. It is a matter of material justice to return them,” he said.

 It is the second time the Netherlands returns looted art to its former colony. In July 2023 almost 500 objects were handed over.

The commission is currently working on recommendations about returning more objects to Indonesia as well as art from Nigeria and India.