Diamond exhibition displays rare and antique pieces

Diamond exhibition displays rare and antique pieces

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): "When subjected under intense female heat, a male will usually produce a diamond."

This theory was one entry in a contest on theory making published in Reader's Digest.

Despite its mocking tone, it reflects the special place diamonds hold in the hearts of many women. It is said that the stone is a woman's "best friend".

Since ancient times, these glittering gemstones have been thought of as a symbol of power and eternity.

In Indian and China, diamonds are considered to have strong magical powers that protect the owners from any evil spirits. The Greeks believe that diamonds embody eternal power. It is also regarded as a sign of an endless love.

For Indonesians, diamonds are closely associated with power and social status. In the past, only royal members and their immediate families were allowed to wear diamond jewelry. Today, nobody but the rich can afford them.

Traders first brought diamonds to Indonesia about 300 years ago. Until the emergence of the Islamic kingdoms in Indonesia between the 16th and 17th centuries, diamonds were rarely discovered on the islands. Prior to this period, royal jewelry was made from gemstones like rubies and sapphires.

In the 15th century, a French trader, Jean Baptiste Taver, happened upon a diamond mine in Martapura during his exploration of the hinterland of Kalimantan. The diamond was being processed by a very simple technique by the island's native people.

Heritage

To increase Indonesians' appreciation of their heritage, the National Museum, in cooperation with the Diamond Information Center and the Indonesian Handicraft Design Development Council, have organized a special exhibition called Khasanah Berlian Indonesia, the Indonesian diamond treasure. It will run until Feb. 12.

The exhibition was opened with a lavish party on Jan. 27. Several noted models paraded various glittering bracelets, necklaces and rings in front of hundreds of people.

The exhibition itself displays more than fifty rare pieces of diamond and gold jewelry collected by the museum as well as a number of items from individual collections.

The jewelry once belonged to royal families from Sumatra, Java, Bali, Madura, Kalimantan and West and East Nusa Tenggara. It was formerly worn at important events and each piece has its own story.

A pair of diamond rings, belonging to the Puri Cakranegara of the kingdom of Lombok, were once displayed at the Leiden Museum in the Netherlands. The jewelry and some other pieces were taken to the Netherlands after Dutch colonial troops successfully defeated the kingdom. The Leiden Museum management repatriated the jewelry to Indonesia as a special gift for the National Museum's 200th anniversary in 1986.

The exhibition also features a beautiful sirih (betel) box as part of the treasure devolving from a prominent noble family in the Minangkabau, an ethnic clan in West Sumatra. This gold container, adorned with diamonds, was used to store pinang nut or lime, tobacco, sirih leaves and a variety of spices. The sirih box was given to the National Museum in l930.

According to the book, Court Arts of Indonesia, the preparation and serving of sirih was an important hospitality ceremony throughout the islands and accompanied other important rituals and celebrations.

This precious gold betel box was mainly used by the Minangkabau court family during wedding ceremonies. A sirih box was often made from a local design and, as such, this box may offer a fairly comprehensive vocabulary of regional styles and designs.

It is unknown whether the floral decoration on the box is connected with any particular symbols. But it may demonstrate the bounteousness of court hospitality and the meticulous craftsmanship stimulated by courtly patronage.

A number of kacip (pinang nut crackers) made of gold, iron and diamonds are also on display. The Kacip was an essential accessory in preparing the sirih, since the pinang nut (betel from the areca palm) had to be cracked to be mixed with other ingredients.

This tool was created in various forms and designs. The kacip from Lombok was made in the form of twalen (Semar in wayang kulit - shadow puppet - plays), who is symbol of good fortune. Balinese kacip look like horses.

Another interesting object is a 19th century gold and diamond opium pipe, also from a Lombok royal family. It is exquisitely crafted with a frog ornament with diamonds and rubies. The pipe might have been part of the Lombok treasure captured when the Dutch forces took over the Puri (palace) Cakranegara in l894.

The Cupu (covered container) for lime is another eye-catching antique made of pure gold and ornamented with diamonds. It was produced in the 19th Century for Palembang (South Sumatra) royalty. This covered box is elaborately designed and has circular motifs. Palembang is famous for woodcarving, gold work and making textiles with a rich supplementary weft of gold threads.

Nanny Budiman of the Diamond Information Center explained that the exhibition is mainly intended to thoroughly study the development of diamond jewelry in Indonesia.

To provide the public with the latest information on diamonds, the organizing committee will also hold a seminar on diamond processing techniques and the history of diamonds at the museum on Thursday, Feb. 9. (The talk will be in Indonesian.)

"Diamond manufacturing is developing very rapidly around the world. Indonesia should therefore up-grade its diamond industry," Nanny said.

"We should be proud that our ancestors already possessed such skillful craftsmanship in creating gold and diamond jewelry. It is our duty to improve it," she concluded.