News item | 27-12-2022 | 16:21
The national government will play a larger and more active role in the development and preservation of the Netherlands Collection. State Secretary Uslu (Culture and Media) will ensure, among other things, that there is better support for private owners of works of art and collections. They will soon be able to turn to the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) for advice on, for example, collection management and conservation and tax regulations. The State Secretary also wants to make it possible to preserve irreplaceable and indispensable works of art for the Netherlands in exceptional cases.
In doing so, the State Secretary broadly follows the advice of the Council for Culture and advisory committees led by Sybrand van Haersma Buma and Alexander Pechtold.
State Secretary Uslu: ‘The Netherlands Collection does not only consist of works of art from the collection of the State. Private collectors and enthusiasts in particular make an enormous contribution. They sometimes dare to be much more progressive in their collection and in many cases they are happy to share their collection with the general public. They deserve an active, supportive government that assists them with advice and action.”
Irreplaceable and Indispensable
In due course, the licensing system for the export of exceptional works of art will be amended. An export license must be applied for for objects that meet certain value or age thresholds. This already applies to exports from the EU, but will then also apply to exports from the Netherlands. An independent committee advises whether a work is irreplaceable and indispensable. In that case, Dutch parties, including the government, museums and private individuals, can see whether they are willing and able to buy it. If not, it can still be sold abroad.
Uslu: “Thanks to these permits, we can check in advance whether we find something so valuable that we want to keep it for the Netherlands Collection. I do not expect this to apply to large numbers of works, as I do not intend to disrupt the art market. It will then really be about exceptional situations, about very special, unique pieces.”
Advisory Committee
There will be an independent advisory committee Irreplaceable and Indispensable. This committee considers whether a work of art or a coherent collection of objects is indispensable and irreplaceable. The Committee also advises which documents should be included in the existing register of protected cultural objects.
Because an amendment to the Heritage Act is necessary, it will take several years before all measures are in force.