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.