{"id":1963134,"date":"2026-05-29T12:46:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1963134"},"modified":"2026-05-29T12:46:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:46:53","slug":"looted-artifacts-in-dutch-royal-collection-and-more-links-for-may-29-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1963134","title":{"rendered":"Looted Artifacts in Dutch Royal Collection, and More: Links for May 29, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2277472633-e1780058784626.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\tGood Morning!<\/p>\n

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  • An investigation found that the Dutch royal family\u2019s collection contains artifacts that were likely looted during the colonial era.<\/li>\n
  • Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III says he has likely curated his final exhibition.<\/li>\n
  • The Getty Center has revealed new details about its forthcoming renovation and yearlong closure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    \n\t\tThe Headlines\t<\/h2>\n

    ROYAL SPRING CLEANING.\u00a0<\/strong>A small number of colonial artifacts owned by the Dutch royal family may have been acquired illegally, according to a report by\u00a0dpa<\/em><\/strong>. A new report commissioned by the Netherlands\u2019\u00a0Foundation for the Royal Private Collections<\/strong>\u00a0to investigate roughly 1,000 objects in the royal collection found that a gold amulet necklace and historical weapons, all from Indonesia, are among the items of questionable provenance. The findings were welcomed, and negotiations for the return of contested items to their countries of origin are expected to begin soon. \u201cCareful handling of colonial collection objects within the royal collections is of essential importance,\u201d said\u00a0Queen M\u00e1xima<\/strong>, who also serves as chair of the foundation.<\/p>\n

    SWAN SONG.\u00a0<\/strong>Is Smithsonian Secretary\u00a0Lonnie G. Bunch III<\/strong>preparing to exit? That is what the\u00a0New York Times<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0asks in a recent piece tied to the forthcoming\u00a0Smithsonian Castle\u00a0<\/strong>exhibition \u201cAmerican Aspirations,\u201d which honors America\u2019s 250th anniversary. The piece stops short of offering a clear answer. Nevertheless, Bunch says the June-opening show \u201cis probably the last exhibition I will curate, there\u2019s no doubt about that.\u201d The article suggests he may be on his way out because Bunch\u2019s allies on the museum board, who have \u201ckept\u201d him at the helm, will likely be outnumbered by pro-Trump supporters this fall, as the administration continues to exert control over the institution it has accused of negatively portraying the US. What is clearer is that Bunch has tried to respond to White House pressure by carefully choosing his battles \u2014 a difficult challenge for which he is well-prepared. That said, the Smithsonian\u2019s secretary may have been planning to exit at this stage anyway. \u201cBut do I wish I was in it?\u201d he asked of the political tensions he faces. \u201cGood Lord, I wish that I was doing my goodbye tour,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

    \n\t\tThe Digest\t<\/h2>\n

    \n\tThe\u00a0Getty<\/strong>\u00a0Center\u00a0<\/strong>has revealed more details about its yearlong closure beginning in March 2027 for renovations that include upgrading the entry and tram system, creating a new garden caf\u00e9, and building a more sustainable infrastructure. [Los Angeles Times<\/strong>]<\/p>\n

    \n\tThe marble-inlay floor of the Romanesque-Gothic\u00a0Siena Cathedral<\/strong>\u00a0will be uncovered for a longer period this year and is the subject of a new international contemporary art competition. [Artribune<\/strong>]<\/p>\n

    \n\tA new book by\u00a0Matthew Campbell<\/strong>,\u00a0The Man Who Stole the Gods<\/em>, tells the story of British dealer\u00a0Douglas Latchford<\/strong>, who was accused of trafficking looted artifacts from Cambodia on a global scale before his death. [Hyperallergic<\/strong>]<\/p>\n

    \n\tA legend encouraging visitors to grind their heel on the testicles of a bull depicted in a 19th-century mosaic near Milan\u2019s\u00a0Duomo<\/strong>\u00a0has worn a crater into the pink tesserae, which is now being carefully restored. [The Guardian<\/strong>]<\/p>\n

    \n\t\tThe Kicker\t<\/h2>\n

    ZOHRA OPOKU\u2019S WOVEN VISION.\u00a0<\/strong>Ghanaian German artist\u00a0Zohra Opoku<\/strong>\u00a0is being celebrated in Africa\u2019s biggest museums. Who is she?\u00a0ARTnews<\/em>\u2018 Gameli Hamelo\u00a0profiles<\/strong>the \u201cwoven storyteller,\u201d who is particularly interested in the medium of textiles and was highly praised by the late Koyo Kouoh. Opoku\u2019s first museum survey is on view through Oct. 4 atZeitz MOCAA<\/strong>\u00a0in Cape Town. Titled \u201cWe Proceed in the Footsteps of the Sunlight,\u201d after a passage from the\u00a0Egyptian Book of the Dead<\/em>, the show \u201calmost feels surreal. It almost feels like you are watching your life from the outside,\u201d the artist told\u00a0ARTnews<\/em>. The exhibition is anchored on the themes of water, breath, and the ground. Opoku, who moved to Ghana from Germany, often explores the experience of women; she has spoken with several \u201cqueen mothers\u201d from Ghana for some of her works, to \u201ccapture their spirit, their lively nature [and] their beautiful dresses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/news\/looted-colonial-artifacts-in-the-dutch-royal-family-links-1234787844\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2277472633-e1780058784626.jpg?w=1024″] Good Morning! An investigation found that the Dutch royal family\u2019s collection contains artifacts that were likely looted during the colonial era. Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III says he has likely curated his final exhibition. The Getty Center has revealed new details about its forthcoming renovation and yearlong closure. The Headlines ROYAL […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-1963134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1963134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1963134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1963134\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1963134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1963134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1963134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}