Museum explores the fabric of life

Museum explores the fabric of life

By Ida Indawaty Khouw

This museum is not as sophisticated as the Louvre in Paris.
But, compared to other museums in this country whose government
and people still have little respect for such places, this Museum
of Textiles is among the very best, judging from its collection,
building, garden and the floor thanks to the amazing attention of
the Jakarta administration. Aside from the good parts, the
building itself has a stunning history. This is the 13th article
in a series about Jakarta's historical buildings appearing in
Saturday editions of The Jakarta Post.

JAKARTA (JP): It's not so easy for tourists or even
enthusiastic Jakartans to locate the Textile Museum in the
crowded Tanah Abang area of Central Jakarta.

Home to 1,050 collections of a first-class textile collection
from all over the country, the museum is located in front of the
hustle and bustle of Jl. K.S. Tubun.

However, the existence of the museum, which consists of a
number of buildings, cannot be easily spotted since the
pedestrian path along the street is occupied by scores of traders
selling secondhand items, such as electronics appliances, shoes
and clothes among others. Some locals say most of the merchandise
sold is stolen.

Sadly, the street is always crowded with public buses and vans
passing back and forth polluting the air near the busy Tanah
Abang textile wholesale market.

Worst of all , the area surrounding the 19th century building
is prone to crime and close to the notorious low-class
prostitution complex of Bongkaran.

A signboard advertising the museum is even shielded by big
trees and the makeshift stalls of the sidewalk vendors, leaving
the image of a neglected and eerie compound similar to its old
neighboring buildings.

This spoiled image immediately turns into a peaceful
environment after you step inside the 9,820-square-meter complex
of the museum.

The back of the building is very green and beautifully
decorated. Inside, visitors are stunned by the gleaming
tessellated pavement floor, which differs in style and color from
one room to another.

Historian Adolf Heuken noted the textile museum building as a
good example of old colonial mansions, which are identified
simply from the spacious gardens at the back.

"The architecture of the public buildings of the 19th century
was very residential in character," Heuken said.

The area is home to several old and beautiful buildings, but
the museum is the only well maintained one. Others have turned
into homes for squatters.

The city administration protects the museum building, not only
for its typical architecture but also for its role during the
people's struggle to defend the country's newly proclaimed
independence on Aug. 17, 1945.

The history of the museum, known in the past as the Jati
Petamburan No. 4 building, once had a close relationship with the
elite Arabian community.

According to literature, the building was built in the early
19th century by a Frenchman. Ownership then passed to the Turkish
consul Abdul Azis Al Mussani Al Katiri, who married a daughter of
the King of Bengkulu.

Al Katiri, who was then one of the elite members of the
Arabian community in the area, also owned other colonial style
buildings in the neighborhood.

During the early days of Batavia's history, most of the
community -- especially the foreigners -- grouped themselves in
certain areas based on ethnicity. At that time, such actions were
common.

The European community, for instance, grouped themselves in
the center parts of town such as Weltevreden (now around Lapangan
Banteng area in Central Jakarta) and Koningsplein (now the
prestigious Medan Merdeka area), according an expert of old
buildings, Djauhari Sumintardja.

The Chinese, on the other hand, preferred to live in the
Glodok and Gunung Sahari areas, which are still known as the
Chinatowns of Jakarta.

The Arabs picked Tanah Abang as their favorite area for
settlement, which is now the most popular place for "businessmen"
from African countries, particularly Nigeria.

"Arabians in Tanah Abang at the time were mostly from rich and
elite families, living in big mansions with huge gardens,"
Djauhari said.

According to archeologist Candrian Attahiyat, the presence of
Arabs in the area must have a correlation with the Tanah Abang
textile market since the core business of the Middle Eastern
people was usually related to cloth.

But Djauhari doubted the version. He said the Arabs were there
mainly because of the green and peaceful surroundings.

At that time, Djauhari said, the Tanah Abang area was like an
entrance gate to the city's center of Weltevreden.

"Usually, people from subdistricts like Kebayoran Lama in
(now) South Jakarta went to the city center by train as far as
Tanah Abang station and then took buggys to go to Weltevreden,"
Djauhari said.

According to a book titled "The Jakarta Textile Museum", the
Jati Petamburan No. 4 building no longer belongs to the Arabian
family, here during the country's independence war which also
marked the "end" of the Arabian domination in the Tanah Abang
area.

The book said that Al Katiri's offspring sold the property, to
which horse and sheep stalls had been added, in 1942 to an old
building lover, Dutchman Karel Christian Cruq.

Five years later, the building was purchased by Lie Sion Pin,
a Chinese man.

In early 1945, the building was used as the headquarters of
the Civil Defense Force (BKR) in the struggle to defend the
country's newly proclaimed independence, the book said.

Before it was officially handed over to the Jakarta
administration in 1975 and used as the textile museum, the
property was known as the "house of massage parlors" while under
the supervision of the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1962.

But there's no adequate data to support this. A newspaper
report once stated that the ministry at the time used the
building as a dormitory for elderly citizens and the blind, some
of whom then opened massage services in the building.

Now, it is the Textile Museum, which stores a wide collection
of textiles, such as the traditional threads and textile
ornamentation, weaving looms, non-woven cloth like barkcloth and
animal fur, woven cloth, and readymade garments.

The collection dates from the end of the 18th century to the
present time.

Head of the city Museum and Restoration Agency Robert Silalahi
said last week that his office, in cooperation with the giant
textile company Texmaco, is constructing a new building beside
the Textile Museum.

The work, he said, was to cost some Rp 1 billion.

The adjacent building is designed to host activities related
to the textile industry, such as fashion shows or exhibitions.

"At present, fashion shows are only held at hotels,
restaurants or similar kinds of buildings.

I hope in the future all activities related to the textile
industry will be held in the museum complex so that it will be
visited by many people," Robert said.