Recommendation
In a letter dated 12 March 2007, the Minister for Education, Culture and Science (OCW) asked the Restitutions Committee to issue a recommendation regarding the application submitted on 15 February 2007 by L.E.S., of P.W., United States of America (hereafter referred to as ‘applicant’) for the restitution of the following objects:
NK 178 A-E: garniture
NK 179 A-E: garniture
NK 225 A-D four plates
NK 447 A-B: two plates
NK 470: goblet
NK 490: amulet
NK 560: tapestry
NK 563: bowl
NK 611: dish
NK 686: tapestry
NK 2313: P.P. Lastman, Mordechai’s Triumph
NK 2506: A. van Beijeren, Still life (forgery)
NK 3225: vase
NK 3400: C.F. Mali, Shepherdess with cattle near a mountain lake
According to the applicant, these objects were part of the original trading stock of Amsterdam art dealership A. Staal (hereafter referred to as ‘art dealership Staal’). Since their return to the Netherlands after the Second World War, the claimed objects have been part of the Netherlands Art Property Collection (hereafter referred to as the ‘NK collection’) under the inventory numbers listed above. Some works are in the depot of the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage in Rijswijk (hereafter referred to as ‘ICN’) and some in various institutions in the Netherlands and abroad.