Hermes to be replaced with Rp 100m replica
Hermes to be replaced with Rp 100m replica
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso has finally approved a plan to
replace the statue of the Greek god Hermes with a replica
estimated to cost just under Rp 100 million (US$12,000), a city
official said on Friday.
Head of the city museum and restoration agency Robert Silalahi
said the replica would be crafted by sculptors from Yogyakarta
and the Bandung Institute of Technology in West Java.
"We are now negotiating the cost of the construction of the
replica. It should be less than Rp 100 million and it will be
taken from the city budget," he said.
According to Robert, the original statue will be kept in the
Jakarta History Museum, where it has been kept since its
controversial disappearance from Harmoni bridge last August.
The governor said that the placement of a replica statue would
be less of a temptation to thieves.
The two-meter bronze statue, which used to receive little
public attention, became the subject of interest only after it
was reported missing on Aug. 20, 1999.
Three days after the report, the public works agency claimed
to have found the statue in the Ciliwung river which passes under
the Harmoni bridge. The agency then returned the statue to the
city parks agency.
The statue and the Harmoni bridge, built during the Dutch
colonial period, have been included in the list of protected
historic buildings in the capital.
Previously, Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Affairs
Djailani opposed the plan to make a replica for the statue on the
grounds that it would reduce the value of the original one.
At the Harmoni bridge nowadays, the Central Jakarta
administration has placed a sign reading: Sorry, the Hermes
statue is under renovation.
Robert could not say when the replica would be completed and
when it would be installed at the bridge.
"One reason is the complicated bureaucracy. The other is that
we're currently working hard to conserve the statue's broken left
leg.
"Probably, more details will be available next week," he said.
(ind)