In January 2025, criminals blew up the entrance to the Drenthe Museum in Assen (Netherlands) using explosives. They had stolen several archaeological treasures loaned by Romania for the exhibition “Dacia, Kingdom of Gold and Silver”. The stolen items included the golden helmet of Coțofenești (dating from the 5th century BC) and three gold Dacic bracelets, for a total insured value of around 5.7 million euros. The Romanian collection of 673 objects was insured for more than 30 million euros.
Since 1989, the Netherlands has had a “cultural compensation” scheme to facilitate international loans of works of art. The State guarantees part (often 30%) of the insured value of collections loaned to a Dutch museum. For the “Dacie” exhibition, the State guaranteed up to 9 million euros, or 30% of the insured value. This public guarantee makes it possible to reduce insurance premiums for the museum, making savings of up to 25 – 30%. It facilitates the presentation of prestigious exhibitions. In the event of theft, loss or damage, the State reimburses compensation up to its guaranteed ceiling.
According to a letter to the Dutch parliament from Gouke Moes, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, the state paid 5.7 million euros to international insurance broker AON. The insurance had already transferred this same sum to the National History Museum in Bucharest (Romania) after assessing the loss on the basis of the insurance policy taken out for the four stolen objects. The Dutch State reimbursed AON for the compensation paid to Romania. This payment corresponds precisely to the insured value of the stolen helmet and bracelets. As this value is lower than the state guarantee of 9 million euros, the private insurance of the Drenthe Museum is not requested. The State thus covered the entire loss.
The compensation mechanism also provides that if the objects were found (possibly damaged), Romania would retain possession of them by reimbursing the 5.7 million euros received, less possible restoration costs. The state guarantee is not a donation to the Romanian museum but a refundable advance in the event of the pieces being returned.
This payment of 5.7 million euros is historic for the Netherlands. This is the largest amount ever compensated in this context, while the State had previously only paid around 8,000 euros for losses of this type since 1989.
