Textile Museum
From Pasar Baru, let’s continue to Tanah Abang. On K.S Tubun St., there is a beautiful old house built around the 19th century and formerly owned by a French. It was then sold to Abdul Aziz Al Munawi Al Katiri from Turkey, then owned by Karel Christian Crucq, then changed hands again to Lie Sion Phin. It was also used as the headquarters of the People’s Security Agency (BKR) during the revolutionary era.
On June 11, 1952 it was bought by the Social Affairs Ministry then handed over to the Jakarta city government on October 25, 1975. It was Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin who designated the building as a place to collect, maintain, record and publish information about textile from across the archipelago. On June 28, 1976 it was officially established as the Textile Museum.
Read: MRT construction workers discover Batavia wall near Old City
Currently, the museum holds a collection of 1,914 pieces of cloth from all over Indonesia. However, only around 120 are exhibited. And if you come there, besides enjoying the beauty and uniqueness of the fabrics, you can also take a short batik-making or pottery class. (to be continued) (ra)