Indonesia
Editorial
The history of this collection of Indonesian cultural heritage has many facets, some admirable, some less so. As a result of close collaboration between two museums, the Museum Nasional in Jakarta and the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde (National Museum of Ethnology) in Leiden, in-depth research into the origins of the two largest collections of Indonesian ethnographica in the world has been carried out for the first time. This research has culminated in the exhibition Indonesia: the discovery of the past, which can be seen at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam from 17 December 2005. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to display objects from both collections in their original context. It is a journey of discovery into the rich, shared past of Indonesia and the Netherlands, a tale of scholars, the spoils of war, expeditions, missionaries, chance finds and political intervention. The joint exhibition will serve to strengthen cooperation between the two museums not only in the fields of collection research and management but also in educational programmes. In addition, both the Indonesians and the Dutch will have a chance to become acquainted with aspects of Indonesian cultural heritage that have not been accessible to them until now.
Two museums, one collection
The starting point of the exhibition is the collection policy of two institutions, the Batavian Society and the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde. Both date from the colonial period, when Indonesia was a Dutch possession, and the collections are comparable because many objects came from the same collectors and sites. These artefacts were collected during scientific expeditions and military campaigns or by government officials and missionaries. On the orders of the colonial government all objects had to be sent to the Batavian Society in Batavia, the present Jakarta. There everything was divided: one part remained in Batavia and the other was sent to the Netherlands, usually to Leiden but sometimes to other places as well.
Origins of the museums
The age of Enlightenment gradually reached the Dutch colonies. The emphasis on rational thought went together with a search for scientific explanations in the fields of tradition, culture and religion. A young official of the Dutch East India Company, J.C.M. Rademacher, was drawn to the thinking behind several young institutions in the Netherlands and the example they set. One was the Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen (Dutch Society of Sciences), founded in Haarlem in 1752. He proposed setting up a similar body in Batavia. Eventually the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1778. From the outset there was an intensive programme of anthropological research, publications and collecting. At that time it was customary in higher colonial circles to collect rare objects. These were then presented to the Society. In 1779 this custom led to the opening of the Museum of the Batavian Society. In 1822 a decree by the Governor-General laid down that all finds in the entire archipelago must be sent to Batavia. The board of the Society then put forward a proposal as to how they should be divided between Batavia and the Netherlands. After Independence the name of the museum was changed to Museum Nasional Indonesia and new acquisitions remained in the museum of the province where they were found, except for finds of 'national importance', such as the gold treasure discovered in Wonoboyo (Central Java) in 1990.
The museum in Leiden had its origins in the first decades of the 19th century. Here too, Enlightenment thinking lay behind the founding of an ethnological museum. It was also a consequence of the fact that private collections already existed. In 1813 J.F. Royer gave his Chinese collection to the House of Orange, and from 1837 the Japanese collection of the renowned German physician Von Siebold was housed in the Ethnographical Museum in Leiden, the predecessor of the present museum. A third factor in the development of the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde was colonialism. After the dissolution of the Dutch East India Company in 1799, Indonesia officially became a colony and the Dutch military and political role grew correspondingly. In the last decades of the 19th century this led to a five-fold increase in the size of the Indonesia collection. After the Second World War the relationship with Indonesia was complex, and the return of cultural objects was regularly discussed. In 1978 these discussions were concluded when one of the finest examples of Indonesian sculpture, the Prajnaparamita, together with a large part of the Lombok treasure, was returned to Indonesia. Both can now be admired in De Nieuwe Kerk, if only for a short period. Since then cooperation with Indonesia has developed. The project 'Shared Cultural Heritage, Indonesia – Netherlands' forms the basis of this exhibition and the accompanying publication, and it is a good example of the excellent relationship between the two museums.
History of collecting
Uncharted territory: the first expeditions
Many of the objects in this exhibition were found by scientific expeditions, sometimes sent by the government, sometimes by organisations such as the Royal Dutch Geographical Society or the Society for the Promotion of Natural History Research. These expeditions explored virgin territory in the archipelago and built up geological, botanical, zoological and ethnographical collections.
The results of some of these expeditions can be seen in the exhibition. The physician Anton Nieuwenhuis (1864-1953), 'the Dr. Livingstone of Borneo', was sent to the island known today as Kalimantan in 1892. He was in charge of medical care there while at the same time collecting objects made by the inhabitants of Kalimantan, the Dayak. This ethnic group consists of hundreds of tribes who are entirely dependent on nature. Thus the Dayak believe in the need for a natural balance. This belief is expressed in many kinds of ceremonies and artefacts. The Dayak decorate themselves with jewellery and tattoos with great enthusiasm. These tattoos are a form of inspired, magical art. They give expression to a religious conviction, confer social status and ward off evil. The exhibition includes tattoo stencils collected by Nieuwenhuis.
Sumatra was another destination for journeys of discovery. In the middle of the 19th century this island still had many unexplored regions. Expeditions explored the unknown territories and collected ethnographica. One was the Central Sumatra expedition in the 1870s. It had several aims: to map the area and to carry out linguistic, ethnographical and natural history research. The exhibition presents a number of the objects brought back by this expedition, such as elaborately worked textiles and brass tobacco boxes.
The great discovery: archaeological sites
There was interest in archaeological and cultural remains as well as in ethnographica. The exhibition focuses on five sites. Several objects in the exhibition - a bronze statue, a kris (dagger) and a bell - are from Borobudur, the most famous temple in Indonesia. Built in Central Java in the 8th and 9th centuries, it was quickly forgotten. It was not until 1814 that a Dutch engineer, commissioned by the British colonial administrator Raffles, chopped the trees and plants away and made the first drawings of this magnificent monument.
Among the highlights of the exhibition are the sculptures found in Singasari, a small village near Malang in East Java. During the Singasari period (13th century) the building of stone temples seems to have gained fresh momentum. Some of these temples were memorials for dead kings. At the same time Buddhist sculpture and iconography was developing rapidly, which is clearly evident in the highly refined works of this period. At De Nieuwe Kerk no less than seven examples are on view, including the 'Night Watch' of Indonesia, the figure of Prajnaparamita, the goddess of supreme wisdom.
On 4 October 1881 the Batavian Society was offered a find of 27 gold and silver objects. They came from the village of Muteran, close to Surabaya. This was a memorable moment, because never before had a gold treasure of this size been encountered. The find was only exceeded by that of Wonoboyo in 1990. The Muteran treasure was immediately divided between Batavia and Leiden. The exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk is the first opportunity to admire this spectacular find reunited in its entirety. The treasure, probably dating from the 10th century, was found in a large metal pot at a depth of 45 cm, and consisted of idols, jewellery, a silver dish and a number of other objects. The most unusual pieces of jewellery are two head coverings which were probably placed on a knot of hair; they are superb examples of sophisticated goldsmith's work. It is not clear who hid this collection in the ground or why.
Discoveries still take place in modern Indonesia, as demonstrated by the spectacular find in 1990 of the Wonoboyo gold treasure, named after the village close to Yogyakarta. To achieve better irrigation of a rice field, the owner of the land had the soil level lowered, thus revealing the treasure. It was in a bronze box and five Chinese pots of the Tang period, and was much larger than the Muteran treasure. It dates from c. 900 and consists of nearly 7,000 gold and silver coins and scores of gold objects, many of which were previously unknown. The artefacts reveal a very high level of craftsmanship. There are splendid gold dishes, refined jewellery and richly worked head coverings. A wide selection of this treasure can now be seen in the Netherlands for the first time.
Presents for the Hollanders
Many of the gifts presented to the Dutch rulers by Indonesian princes ended up in museums. In particular, the local rulers in Java and Bali gave costly 'kraton gifts' to Dutch kings and queens and to the representatives of the colonial power. Impressive examples are displayed in the exhibition: handsome ceremonial lances given by the prince of Yogyakarta and elaborately worked sabres from the court of Surakarta. Balinese local rulers gave unusual gold incense and tobacco boxes.
Bible in hand: collecting by missionaries
Some of the objects in the two museums were collected by missionaries and Bible translators in the colonial era. Early on, Dutch missionaries began spreading the Christian faith on Ambon in the Moluccas and in North Sulawesi. Then it was the turn of other areas in the Moluccas, North Sumatra and East Java. Apart from carrying out their religious tasks, the missionaries collected artefacts in the areas where they worked. Many of these collections were later sent to the museums. The exhibition includes a remarkable collection of tree bark from Sulawesi which was assembled by the missionary Christian Kruyt (1869-1949).
The passion of a collector
Many of the artefacts in both museums were donated by private collectors. Those who feature in this exhibition share a common colonial context but, at the same time, are very different in personal background and collecting method. A remarkable collection of wayang kulit puppets put together by W. Harloff can be seen at De Nieuwe Kerk, as well as outstanding pieces from E. Jacobson's collection of Central Java masks and G. Rouffaer's batik collection.
The spoils of war: Aceh, Lombok and Bali
Plunder during military expeditions was often the start of a collection. The war in Aceh, the events on Bali and Lombok, and the military campaigns in South Sulawesi play a part in the exhibition. Collections of this kind are the most controversial and raise ethical questions. The use of force in order to gain control of these areas is now rightly seen as a black chapter in colonial history. There was criticism at the time but there was no question of widespread opposition to military intervention. After all, 'a great task' was being carried out. The exhibition and the book provide background information that will help stimulate discussion of this issue.
In 1894 the princedom of Mataram-Cakranegara on Lombok, the island between Bali and Sumbawa, was defeated by Dutch troops. The riches of the palace were carried off as the spoils of war: 230 kilos of gold, 7,000 kilos of silver, jewellery and precious stones. Since the victory of the Mataram dynasty over the Singasari dynasty in 1839, the princedom had prospered. Lombok Strait was busy with ships from abroad and the surrounding region. The prince had granted an English merchant a monopoly on trade with those ships; this was a matter of concern to the Dutch, who saw their influence decreasing. From 1891 there was a power struggle between the ruling dynasty and the local Sasak people, who asked the Governor-General to intervene. After negotiations failed, it was decided to send a military expedition to Lombok. Major assaults followed, involving over 5,000 troops. By 1 December 1895 the princedom of Mataram had been subdued at the cost of thousands of dead and wounded. The Dutch took the riches of the palace of Cakranegara as loot and sent them to Batavia, where they were divided up by the Batavian Society. A year later chests full of gold, silver and gems arrived at the Dutch central bank. After an inventory was made by the influential critic Victor de Stuers, the treasure was put on show at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in 1897-1898. Part of it was given back to Indonesia in 1977. Highlights from this extensive collection are on view in the exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk: glittering jewellery with large stones such as brooches, headdresses and rings.
Similar acts of aggression occurred some years later. In 1904 Lieutenant-Colonel Van Daalen broke the fanatical resistance in the interior of North Sumatra at the cost of nearly 3,000 dead, about a quarter of the local population. Van Daalen's contempt for the indigenous people did not prevent him taking an interest in their art, and in 1904 crates of ethnographica from this region arrived in Batavia. A year later this consignment was exhibited as the 'Van Daalen collection' at the Museum of the Batavian Society. The hundreds of objects were then divided again between Batavia and Dutch museums. In the present exhibition there are silent witnesses to this cruel method of acquisition: jewellery from Aceh and gold and clothing from the Gayo highlands.
Other poignant examples of war booty in the exhibition are the Balinese artefacts from Badung and Tabanan. Here too the Dutch army struck. On 14 September 1906 the first troops landed and the palace of the ruler of Badung was plundered after a dramatic puputan (ritual suicide) by the prince, his family and his retainers. In 1907, 410 objects arrived in the Netherlands; 241 had remained in Batavia. But the artefacts did not all come through government channels. During this turbulent period the painter Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp travelled to Bali. He rescued what he could from burnt-out temple complexes and palaces. In this way he acquired two splendid doors, over four metres high, from a gate. He later presented them to the museum in Leiden. They now stand in De Nieuwe Kerk as silent witnesses to a dark chapter in the history of collecting.
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