The United States has repatriated a collection of looted cultural artifacts to Indonesia, according to a report by the Associated Press. The handover took place July 22 at a meeting between Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto and FBI director Kash Patel in Jakarta.
The returned items, from Indonesia’s Papua region, are part of the cultural heritage of the Dani and Asmat tribes and Lake Sentani communities, said Indonesia’s culture minister Fadi Zon. They were repatriated through cooperation between the FBI and the ministry after provenance research established that they had been smuggled out of Indonesia, Zon added.
The artifacts displayed at the repatriation ceremony include several stone axe heads. Traditional Papuan stone axes, said the minister, were much more than utilitarian objects. Among highland tribes like the Dani, they served as symbols of status, used as currency, and passed down as heirlooms.
Earlier this month, the U.S. embassy in Jakarta announced the return of two 8th-century bronze sculptures of the Buddhist deity Avalokitesvara to Indonesia. In that case, the sculptures were repatriated following an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations.
Yesterday’s exchange underscored growing cooperation between Indonesia and the U.S. in identifying, recovering, and repatriating trafficked items to their country of origin, said Zon, who expressed hope for continued collaboration on returns.
In recent years Indonesia has stepped up its efforts to recover looted cultural treasures particularly those held in the Netherlands, which colonized Indonesia between 1602 to 1945.
