On 15 July 2025, the second round of applications for the ‘Regeling Herkomstonderzoek Koloniale Collecties,’ was closed. The assessment committee will gather shortly to assess all the received applications.
Members of the assessment committee:
- Mirjam Hoijtink, Head of Research & Collections, Wereldmuseum
- Karel Weener, provenance researcher, History Department, Rijksmuseum
- Klaas Stutje, senior researcher affiliated with the Expertise Center Restitution, NIOD Institute for War-, Holocaust- and Genocide Studies.
- Pauljac Verhoeven, director, Museum Bronbeek
15 May 2025
The Provenance Research Scheme by the Colonial Collections Consortium contributes to ten museums that will invastigate the provenance history of their (sub) collection or a specific object for which there are indications that it was acquired in a colonial context. The Provenance Research Scheme makes a total of €500.000 available for such research. For the first round of applications, €243.317 has now been awarded. The second and final round of applications closes on 15 July 2025.
Awarded projects
Read more about the awarded project of the first round below.
Keramiekmuseum het Princessehof, Leeuwarden (€30.000)
This provenance research focuses on the non-ceramic Indonesia collection “Indische Kunst”, which was collected by Nanne Ottema, the founder of the Ceramics Museum.
Kunstmuseum Den Haag (€30.000)
Kunstmuseum Den Haag is conducting research into the eighteenth-century court silver of the Sultan of Ternate from the precious metal collection and two nineteenth-century Indonesian gongs from the music collection.
Missiemuseum Steyl (€27.980)
This provenance research that will be carried out revolves around an honorary robe with Baxian motifs from Yanggu (China) that was brought by missionaries in 1901 under unclear circumstances.
Museon-Omniversum, Den Haag (€7.610)
The Museon-Omniversum is investigating the kwakwabangi, a unique bench from Suriname from around 1850. It was an important symbol of one of the Du companies and is, as far as we know, the only example in the world.
Museon-Omniversum, Den Haag (€7.610)
The Museon Omniversum is investigating the kwakwabangi, a unique wooden bench from Suriname that was used as a percussion instrument by the Du companies. The object dates from around 1850 and is, as far as we know, the only example in the world.
Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle (€30.000)
This museum has a Benin Bronze in its collection. It was probably stolen from the Kingdom of Benin in 1897. It has been part of the collection since 1937 through founder Dirk Hannema.
Museum Prinsenhof Delft (€30.000)
The museum will examine twelve objects from the Nusantara collection to shed light on the colonial history of Delft and the story of the ‘Indische instelling’.
Museum van Bommel van Dam, Venlo (€29.980)
The provenance research focuses on the Ethnographica sub-collection, where seven objects are currently linked to the Senufo (West Africa).
Museum Vrolik, Amsterdam (€15.791)
The provenance research will be conducted in collaboration with SAHRA and will focus on the acquisition of human and ancestral remains originating from South Africa. The museum would like to know to which specific communities these human and ancestral remains belong.
Stichting Budaya Kita (€24.000)
Stichting Budaya Kita will investigate ancestral remains from the Aru Islands, an archipelago within the Moluccas. The ancestral remains are in the collections of Museum Vrolik and Wereldmuseum.
Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht (€17.956)
This provenance research focuses on seven objects from the Veterinary Medicine collection to map the colonial history between the Utrecht faculty and the Nederlandsch-Indische Veeartsenijschool (Dutch East Indies Veterinary School).
Call
Do you work at a Dutch heritage institution, such as a museum, university, archive or library, that manages colonial collections or objects and would you like to map out the provenance history? The Consortium Colonial Collections can support your research project through the Provenance Research Scheme. Proposals can be submitted until 15 July 2025 for contributions of at least €5.000 and a maximum of €30.000. You can find all information about the Provenance Research Scheme here. Please note that this information is only available in Dutch.
Online Consultations
In May, we will organise three online consultation hours to explain the scheme and the requirements step by step. You can then also ask your questions to the consortium colleagues. The online consultations will take place in Dutch via MS Teams on:
- Tuesday 20 May 2025, 3pm-4pm
- Wednesday 21 May 2025, 10am-11am
- Thursday 22 May, 3pm-4pm
Click on the button below to sign up.
Do you work at a Dutch heritage institution, such as a museum, university, archive or library, that manages colonial collections or objects and would you like to map out the provenance history? The Consortium Colonial Collections can support your research project through the Provenance Research Scheme. In May, we will organise three online consultation hours to explain the scheme and the requirements step by step. You can then also ask your questions to the consortium colleagues.
The online consultations will take place in Dutch via MS Teams on:
- Tuesday 20 May 2025, 3pm-4pm
- Wednesday 21 May 2025, 10am-11am
- Thursday 22 May, 3pm-4pm
There are a maximum of 15 spots per consultation hour. Sign up to receive the MS Teams link!
On 15 March 2025, the first round of applications for the ‘Regeling Herkomstonderzoek Koloniale Collecties,’ was closed. The assessment committee will gather shortly to assess all the received applications.
Members of the assessment committee:
- Mirjam Hoijtink, Head of Research & Collections, Wereldmuseum
- Karel Weener, provenance researcher, History Department, Rijksmuseum
- Klaas Stutje, senior researcher affiliated with the Expertise Center Restitution, NIOD Institute for War-, Holocaust- and Genocide Studies.
- Pauljac Verhoeven, director, Museum Bronbeek
7 November 2024
Does your museum manage collections and objects from colonial contexts and would you like to do provenance research on these? Are you a curator and would you like to carry out this provenance research in collaboration with another museum? Or would you like to map the provenance history of a specific group of objects from your own collection for which there are indications that they were acquired in a colonial context? You can submit an application to the Consortium Colonial Collections for (partial) funding of this research.
About the grant
The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has made budget available for provenance research on colonial collections. Dutch heritage institutions, located in the country of the Netherlands, that manage collections, such as museums, universities, archives and libraries, can submit applications for this budget to the Consortium Colonial Collections under the “Regeling Herkomstonderzoek Koloniale Collecties”. A total of EUR 500,000 is available that will be awarded to provenance research projects in two rounds. The first round of applications closes 15 March 2025. The closing date for the second round is 15 July 2025.
About provenance research
Provenance research is an important part of careful collection management, as mentioned in ICOM’s Code of Ethics for Museums. The institution managing an object is responsible for researching its provenance. To encourage collection managing institutions to prioritize research into the provenance of objects from colonial contexts, the “Regeling Herkomstonderzoek Koloniale Collecties” was established.
The information about this grant is available in Dutch.