Celebrating the repatriation of artifacts to the National Museum of the Philippines

Friday, April 10, 2026
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM (Pacific Time)
Fowler Building A222

This repatriation event celebrates the return of remaining limestone burial jars held in Los Angeles, CA to the Philippines. Director General of the National Museum of the Philippines, Jeremy Barnes, will sign an agreement between the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) and the Filipino-American Services Group, Inc. (FASGI) for the repatriation of these artifacts that were previously in the care of FASGI after being donated by the family of Sally A. von dem Hagen. 

View the digital exhibit: Cotabato Limestone Urns

Excerpts from "Gift to the Nation: NMP Presents Donated Limestone Burial Jars in the New 'Gifted, Repatriated' Exhibition"

The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) paved the way for the safe return to the Philippines of the Sally A. von dem Hagen Collection of Limestone Burial Jars from the Kulaman Plateau. This significant donation was initiated by Peter, Stephanie, and Antoinette von dem Hagen in recognition of their late mother’s lifelong custodianship of these objects of Philippine antiquity, spanning over four decades.

The 52-piece collection was presented at the National Museum of Anthropology in May 2024. Now integral to the National Archaeological Collection, their provenance traces back to when they were originally purchased in the early1970s by Mrs. Sally A. von dem Hagen, an American businesswoman living in Manila. When she departed the Philippines for the United States in 1979, she brought her beloved collection with her.

The NMP received thelimestone objects from Los Angeles, California where they were under the temporary care of non-profit organization, the Filipino-American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI) and Dr. Stephen B. Acabado and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Sponsor(s): Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology