Roofkunst

The diamond of Banjarmasin

The Banjarmasin diamond once belonged to the Sultan of Banjarmasin. After the sultan died in 1859, the city was forcibly taken over by Dutch troops and the diamond was taken to the Netherlands as plunder. The diamond eventually ended up in the Rijksmuseum depot and has been part of the permanent collection for a few years. Erik Dijkstra speaks to Hilmar Farid, director of the Ministry of Culture in Indonesia, among others. He also spoke to several descendants of the Sultanate of Banjarmasin. If the diamond returns to Indonesia, who would it belong to and where would it go?