He urged "the importance of their creation in European states possessing colonies because these institutions could become a means for understanding the subject peoples and of awakening the interest of the public and of merchants -- all of which are necessary conditions for a lucrative trade which benefits all.

As Opperhoofd (or chief trader) for the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) at Dejima island in Nagasaki harbor from 1817 through 1823, Jan Cock Blomhoff was unique.

[6] The Japanese predictably responded by ejecting both Blomhoff and his family; but that experience did broaden the range of household goods and other objects he accumulated across the span of his stay in Japan.

During the span of his stay in Japan, Fisher's access to Japanese culture was limited; but within his universe of contacts, he was able to amass a considerable collection of "ordinary" objects which were plausibly overlooked by others.

[7] As a physician practicing Western medicine in Nagasaki (1823–1829), Philipp Franz von Siebold received payment in kind with a variety of objects and artifacts which would later gain unanticipated scholarly attention in Europe.

[9] Another candidate for repatriation may be the Leiden plate, an important Maya belt plaque from Guatemala that some consider should be returned to that country, where it constitutes an object of national pride.