Nineteenth-century tiles on display

By Sri Wahyuni

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Townsfolk who have an eye for antique tiles have just had a rare opportunity to indulge their passions at an exhibition of 19th century tiles, most of which are more suitable for display in a museum than for use in your modern home.

The exhibition at Bentara Budaya from July 20 to July 27 features over 200 tiles bearing some 100 motifs made during the 19th century. Most of them measure 15 centimeters by 15 centimeters.

The organizers of the exhibition have displayed the tiles in such a way that visitors can easily identify the place in the house where a certain tile was used and appreciate the intrinsic beauty of the tiles. Tiles that were usually used for floors are displayed on the floor. Those that were mostly used for wall decoration, likewise, are mounted on the wall. Some of them are framed while others just placed on the wall as they are.

Tile collectors participating in the exhibition include Agus Leonardus, Pupuk DP, Ambar & Yani, Bernie Liem, Umar Mendut, Handoko Semarang, Ong Hari Wahyu, and Felix.

Exhibition coordinator Hermanu, of Bentara Budaya, said that it took him about three years to collect all the displayed tiles. Some of them were taken from the remains of old buildings in various cities including Jakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Purwokerto, and Cirebon. "Those cities have many old buildings," he told The Jakarta Post.

Some of the other tiles exhibited were bought from antique traders who got them from broken antique furniture. "Tiles of this size were not only used for buildings at that time but for furniture as well," Hermanu said, adding that this type of tile usually had more varied motifs than the ones used for buildings.

Tiles bearing fruit or flower motifs, for example, were used mostly for wardrobes or coatracks. Make-up tables or cupboards used the art deco style called Semarangan. What is interesting, according to Hermanu, is that different tile producers employed the same motifs, something unlikely to happen these days.

"It could be because of the huge demand at that time that this phenomena arose," he said.

Unfortunately, only few of the old tiles are left. Most of them were just destroyed, because the old buildings had to be replaced by the new ones. The fact that many foreigners are also interested in collecting old tiles has made them disappear even faster.

Such conditions often encourage tile manufacturers to produce fake antique tiles just to fill the demand of them.

"I suggest that all aficionados of antique tiles be careful before deciding to buy. Always check the reverse of the tile to make sure that the trademark is there. Otherwise, it could be a fake," said Hermanu, adding that no producer could copy the reverse of a tile.

According to Hermanu, it was concern about the disappearance of old tiles and historic buildings that has motivated Bentara Budaya to hold the exhibition. This so-called "modernization" has changed people's way of thinking, including the way they treat old buildings. As a result, the destruction of such buildings has continued unabated since 1960.

"The government, which is supposed to conserve historic buildings, seems to be powerless. Old towns are converted into modern ones," said Hermanu.

Many of the inheritors of old houses in Chinatowns around the country and of traditional houses in Kotagede (Yogyakarta) and Kudus (Central Java) have sold or modernized them. Almost nothing is left.

Netherlands-Indies colonial society began introducing the use of tiles in the country, especially for buildings and furniture, towards the end of the 19th century, or between 1860 and 1900 to be precise.

After the end of the Diponegoro War in Java and the Padri War in Sumatra, the Netherlands-Indies colonials had the financial resources to construct large offices, banks, and hotels which were designed by Western architects. This was because they no longer had to allocate funds for the wars. Most of these buildings were located in large cities or trading centers such as Batavia (now Jakarta), Semarang, and Surabaya.

At the same time, both local and foreign traders also began building their own houses and offices. Most of them used a mixture of Western and Eastern architecture. Such structures can still be found, mostly in Chinatowns and Arab villages, and in the traditional houses of Kudus and Kotagede.

It was at this time that tile gained its acceptance in this particular part of the world. Previously, people had used stone or even clay for flooring purposes.The use of tile has spread out through the regions ever since, especially in Java. This is because traditional Javanese houses are built on the ground rather than being elevated(rumah panggung).

Most of the tiles were imported. Only a small number of them were made locally. Two of the few-and-far-between local brands were Tegel Cap Kunci and Midden Jawa tiles.

There were at least five noted countries from where tiles were imported. They included the Netherlands, England, Germany, China, and Japan. Among the prominent brands were Alphen (Netherlands), H&R Johnson (England), Boizonborg (Germany), Danto Kaisha (Japan), Sati Tile (Japan), and Fuji Miyaki (Japan).