(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Six artifacts of Sri Lankan origin are to be returned to Sri Lanka from the Netherlands after more than two centuries, the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs stated.
Issuing a statement, the ministry stated that in a collaborative international provenance research which was concluded in April 2022, six Sri Lankan objects from the Rijksmuseum collection in the Netherlands were confirmed to be of Lankan origin.
“A golden and a silver kasthane or sabre, a golden knife, two maha thuwakku or wall guns, and Lewke Disave’s cannon-all belonging to the Kandyan Kingdom are among the artifacts,” the Ministry said.
The Ministry of Buddhasasana stated that the artifacts were confirmed as war booty obtained by the Dutch East India Company during the siege of the palace of Kandy in 1765.
