Jakarta, IO – Remnants of past civilizations are always interesting to explore more depth. Visiting ancient sites, museums or historical exhibitions are a number of ways to do this.
One of the historical exhibitions being held at the National Gallery, Central Jakarta, is titled “The Return of Silent Witnesses to Archipelago Civilization” where more than 100 Indonesian historical objects looted by the Dutch during the colonial era.
The exhibition runs from November 28 to December 10, from 10am to 10pm WIB. It is open to the public and free of charge, but would-be visitors must register online first.
The exhibition is divided into three sections. The first displays five statues from the Singasari Kingdom — Prajnaparamita, Ganesha, Durga, Mahakala and Nandiswara. They are placed in a circle with their backs facing each other.
Next, there is an immersive room which is an attraction in itself with technology that provides videos about the heritage on display, and is projected throughout the room. The third room is the main exhibition room where visitors are prohibited from taking picture or video for security reason.
Upon entering the third room, visitors will see a collection of artefacts belonging to Prince Diponegoro when he fought against the Dutch. A number of these objects include horse saddles, spear and keris (kris) — an ancient serpentine weapon often used for ceremony.
In this room there are also objects looted by the Dutch from Lombok in 1894. On display are neatly organized hundreds of kilograms of gold, thousands of kilograms of silver, precious stones and jewelry ranging from earrings, necklaces, wrist and ankle bracelets.
There are also objects looted from Bali during the Puputan Klungkung War in 1908 which was carried out by the Dutch East Indies royal army KNIL.
Read: A Glimpse At Paintings Of Presidential And Vice Presidential Candidates At Pasar Baru
One of the looted items is a kris acquired by the National Museum van Wereldculturen in 1956, which was then stored at the Volkenkunde Museum, Leiden.
The return of Indonesian historical objects took quite a long time and tortuous process over decades. To find out about their history, visitors can read it on the short descriptions listed in each room, or access the e-catalogue. (un)