Ciputat antiques going for a song<\/p>\n
By Edith Hartanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Antique dealers along Jl. Ciputat Raya in South
\nJakarta are offering discounts of up to 50 percent for the whole
\nof August.<\/p>\n
Banners outside shops and galleries between Pasar Jumat and
\nRempoa will indicate which shops are participating in the Ciputat
\nFair.<\/p>\n
The organizing committee's head, Budi Santosa, said the fair
\nwas aimed at foreigners and locals alike.<\/p>\n
"We have all kinds of antiques, such as paintings, sculptures,
\nfurniture and handicrafts. Visitors can choose different motifs,
\nfrom classic to modern," Budi said yesterday.<\/p>\n
A quick tour of some of the shops revealed a wide range of
\nantiques on offer, including a collection of old silver and gold
\njewelry, traditional weapons, Dutch colonial-era furniture,
\nartistic suspended lamps and wooden sculptures with tribal
\nmotifs.<\/p>\n
There are also traditional paintings, sarongs, materials and
\nweaving from almost every part of Indonesia including Aceh,
\nPalembang, West Sumatra, Lampung, Bali, Sumbawa, Flores,
\nKalimantan and Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
There are also Chinese ceramics and furniture.<\/p>\n
The fair, in which 105 shops and galleries are participating,
\nis part of celebrations for Jakarta's 470th birthday and
\nIndonesia's 52nd independence anniversary.<\/p>\n
It is organized by the Sarik Migrant Fraternity, a group of
\nmigrants from Bukittinggi in West Sumatra, who run most of the
\nantique shops on Jl. Ciputat Raya.<\/p>\n
Budi, who runs the Budi Gallery, said 80 percent of antique
\ndealers in Ciputat were related.<\/p>\n
"We all come from Sarik village, close to Mt. Merapi in
\nBukittinggi," he said.<\/p>\n
People from the same village also run most of the antique
\nshops on Jl. Surabaya, Jl. Sabang and Jl. Kebon Sirih in Central
\nJakarta, he said.<\/p>\n
The antique business has been passed on from generation to
\ngeneration.<\/p>\n
"My father, Haji Nasrul, was in the business for 20 years,"
\nsaid the 30-year old Budi, who gave up a management position with
\na major Japanese electronic assembly company to continue the
\nfamily business.<\/p>\n
The fair was almost canceled because the dealers did not put
\nin as much money as expected.<\/p>\n
Budi said some of his colleagues were reluctant to chip in.<\/p>\n
"They are very interested in family affairs, but when it comes
\nto business, they are stingy," he said.<\/p>\n
One victim of this was the press conference, originally
\nplanned for the eve of the fair on Thursday. The conference was
\ncanceled contributing to a lack of publicity.<\/p>\n
But Budi is optimistic the fair will promote Ciputat as
\ntourist area.<\/p>\n
"Our motto is still: 'We buy junk from you and sell antiques
\nto you'," he said in reference to Sarik antique dealers' old
\nmotto.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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