Not just collected for pride

Not just collected for pride

By Eddy Soetriyono

JAKARTA (JP): In the old days, primitive tribes would collect
the skulls of the enemies they had beheaded to prove their
prowess. For the same purpose, agrarian communities would collect
the horns of buffaloes they had slaughtered and the Javanese
would only feel contented if, apart from owning a big house and a
horse, they could own a beautiful keris (Javanese dagger).

In our modern society, people take pride in not only their
luxury houses and cars, but also in their collections of
paintings or antiques, both being works of a high aesthetic
value.

"Someone has a progressive way of thinking only when he
understands art," said Tong Djoe, an Indonesian shipping tycoon,
also known as a collector of thousands of antiques, especially
old ceramic jugs. "I like collecting old porcelain jugs as they
take a long time to make," he said.

The love for art is an important aspect for a collector of
antique ceramics. Abu Ridho, a ceramic specialist formerly
serving as the curator at the National Museum, cited three
criteria in antique ceramics collection: visually attractive,
good condition (defect-free) and unique colors.

He showed two Chinese ceramics from the Tang dynasty (8th
century). One of the ceramics has unique colors and the other a
unique form. It is hardly possible to find other items like these
two elsewhere, which explains why they can reach billions of
rupiah in value.

Being unique means being rare, and a rare item is usually
expensive, something that the owner can take pride in. Eleven
years ago, PT Wisesa, one of Tommy Soeharto's companies,
discovered some 30,000 pieces of ceramic items from the Sung
dynasty (960-1279). These are rare antiques today, even in their
country of origin, China. (In Indonesia, an item of existing for
at least 50 years may be called antique while in the U.S. an item
will be considered antique when it has been existence for at
least a century.)

Of course before PT Wisesa discovered these Sung-dynasty
ceramics, their prices were exorbitant. However, Wisesa's
discovery caused a price drop because of an oversupply.
The latest report said that these antiques are now piled up in a
neglected state in a warehouse on Batam Island.

Abundant stock normally causes the prices of antiques
originating from the same dynasty to drop and naturally those
coming from later dynasties will fare worse.

Before the glorious days of Michael Hatcher, considered a
'hero' for his success in salvaging antique treasures from
shipwrecks, ceramics dating back to the Han dynasty (between 206
and 220 A.D.) could fetch US$30,000 per piece. However, today,
again due to an abundant supply, they fetch $4,000 maximum.

'Tek Sing' ceramics

Different places have different stories. The price of an
antique piece does not depend only on the product, but also on
its 'placing' or distribution. The scarcity of Chinese ceramics
in Europe has upped the prices, for example, in the case of some
three hundred and fifty thousand 19th-century pieces salvaged by
Michael Hatcher from the wreckage of S.S. Tek Sing, which sank in
the waters between Sumatra and Singapore in 1822.

In Indonesia, the Tek Sing ceramics, regarded as having a low
historical value and average glaze quality, are almost worthless,
as the highest price is only around Rp 100,000. But in Germany,
with a mighty Rp 24 billion promotional budget in the style of
Nagel Auction Center (who also staged a road show to New York,
London, Verona, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore), the
antique items reached Rp 40 million apiece in last year's
auctions.

A change in taste or style can also transform what is
perceived as being rare. Over the past few years ethnic based
interior styles have become increasingly fashionable, especially
among expatriates and followed later by wealthy Indonesians. As
a result, gebyok (a Javanese wooden partition adorned with
engraving), previously very easy to find, is now a rare item.
Similarly, village tables made from natural tree forms are hard
to find. Nowadays, along the main roads of Boyolali and Solo
regencies, hundreds of lumpang (mortars) and komboran (containers
of drinking water for cattle) are sold at prices ranging from Rp
250,000 up to Rp 400,000. Both these items are currently popular
export commodities.

Teguh Edhieyanto, a painter who regularly collects a variety
of antiques, including items from Indonesia like bronze statues,
stones, terracotta pieces of the classical period, keris, masks,
photographs and even paintings of the Mooi Indie period, gebyok
and wooden mortars are on display at Leiden Museum and the
National Museum in Washington DC.

Terracotta pieces from the Majapahit Kingdom era are also
eagerly hunted by collectors. Abu Ridho said that the grandeur of
the Majapahit Kingdom has made antique and artifact collectors
intensely interested in statuettes in the shape of heads or
headless bodies from the Trowulan site in East Java.

A small glazed porcelain item, which used to be easily
obtainable and was therefore worthless, is now a rarity costing
some $100 per piece. The popularity of these Trowulan artifacts
have led to their frequent forgery, Abu added.

The style and opulence of Majapahit, a kingdom which used to
control the entire Indonesian archipelago, has been common theme
for advertisements made by a number of hotels in Bali and East
Java.

The curator of a gallery of antique goods and artifacts based
in Surabaya and having a branch office in Cipete, Jakarta, said
that many foreigners and indigenous people alike have bought up
terracotta replicas of items actually dating back to the era of
the Kingdom of Majapahit.

In interviews with The Jakarta Post, a number of gallery
owners in Surabaya and also star-rated hotels in Jakarta all
agreed about this trend.

Fake antiques

Rarity, however, may encourage antique and artifacts vendors
to make short-cuts to make money. Instead of selling the
replicas, they have tried to produce fake antiques. Abu Ridho
said that antiques most often forged are Chinese ceramics and
Majapahit terracotta pieces.

Once, Abu said, several collectors approached him about
porcelain jugs they had just bought from a famous tycoon and
well-known antique collector. To their dismay, none of the jugs
were genuine.

If these forged antiques are made in Plered or Lombok, Abu
said, they are relatively easy to detect for the poor quality of
the ornaments and the strokes of the brush. However, if these
forged items come from China or Taiwan, they can only be detected
by ceramics experts. In China and Taiwan, some antiques have been
forged deliberately for studies. As a result, these ceramics are
near perfect. In some cases, however, they are too perfect for an
antique piece.

Abu is also preparing a display room for his ceramics
collection in his house in Kebayoran Lama. In this room, genuine
and forged items will be put side by side.

Some collectors cheat to make easy profits. These people are
usually well versed in this subject but to make money they will
not hesitate to tell people that genuine items are fake or the
other way around. Once, a noted terracotta collector, who was
also the consultant for the renovation of "Oud Batavia", insisted
that Abu should state that some forged items in his collection
were genuine. Abu, however, refused to comply.

These ugly practices are worrying to Teguh Edhieyanto because
they will add confusion to the antique business, an activity
which seems to be carried out in a highly secretive manner.

Batavia Auction Center, which is now preparing to make itself
a professional auction center like Christie's or Sotheby's, said
M. Ramzy Nasroen will hold an exhibition of antique goods after
its auction of Indonesian paintings slated for September this
year.

Will another auction center, Larasati, follow suit? A question
arises: Will these activities ensure that Indonesia's antique and
artifacts market will be in better order? The answer is, just
wait and see.