Kastane met schede

This silver sabre (kastane) was part of a group of six Sinhalese weapons from the Rijksmuseum’s collection that were returned to Sri Lanka by the Dutch State in 2023. After conducting joint provenance research, it was concluded that these weapons were captured by Dutch troops during the siege of the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka in 1765. Hence, there was involuntary loss of possession, prompting the restitution of these objects. The sabre and the other weapons are now on display at the Colombo National Museum.