Nothing but the truth

The Netherlands has chosen to publicly acknowledge its bloody past

- MANDIRA NAYAR

In Amsterdam’s Rijksmuse-um—filled with the Dutch masters, where The Night Watch (painting) is the star—lies The Banjarmasin Diamond. But it does not draw quite the same frenzy. This 36-carat diamond from Indonesia has a story similar to that of the Koh-iNoor. Including the descendants of the sultan wanting it back.

But this is where the story differs. Unlike the Koh-i-Noor, which is very much a part of the crown jewels and the star at the Tower of London, the Rijksmuseum makes it clear that The Banjarmasin Diamond is loot.

In 1859, in very much Lord Dalhousie style, the Dutch “violently seized” the Banjarmasin—as the Rijksmuseum description reads—ended the sultanate and seized the sultan’s possession. The story went that the sultan’s first wife had so many diamonds that they overflowed. Among them was the Banjarmasin. The Dutch took it back to the Netherlands to either sell or give it to King Wilhelm III. Like the Kohi-Noor, it failed to impress—it had to be cut. It lies at a shining 36 carats.