Rotterdam reveals true story behind the Lombok Treasures
Rotterdam reveals true story behind the Lombok Treasures
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (JP): An unusual exhibition at the
Kunsthal in Rotterdam running to Dec. 10 claims to reveal the
true story behind the Lombok Treasures while celebrating 50 years
of Indonesia's independence.
Over 100 years ago, on Nov. 19, 1894, 239 kilograms of gold
coins, 7,199 kg of silver coins and over a thousand gold objects
and jewelry were looted by Dutch soldiers from a burning palace
in Lombok. Part of these spoils were then shipped to the
Netherlands in 75 sealed crates. The once powerful Ratu Gede
Ngurah Karangasem, former king of Lombok, died two years later
after being banished to Batavia (now Jakarta).
In December 1973, the General Assembly of UNESCO unanimously
demanded the immediate and unconditional return to their rightful
owners of all war treasures which colonial powers had taken from
Africa, Asia and Latin America. That was why half of the Lombok
treasures were then returned to Indonesia by the Netherlands.
Although Indonesians may wonder why it was not possible for the
complete Dutch collection to be returned, at least sixty objects
originating from these treasures are now on permanent display at
the Museum National in Central Jakarta. The rest of the treasure
was recently transferred from the Nederlandsche Bank to the
Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden.
Towards the end of 1994, Ewald Vanvught published a book, De
Schatten van Lombok, about the lost treasures of Lombok. It
obviously caught the attention of the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. The
Kunsthal management requested Vanvugt use his research as
material for an exhibition about the fate of the Lombok
treasures. Vanvugt was then installed as host curator for the
show. He did not confine the show to only displaying the spoils
taken by the Dutch army in Lombok, but also uncovered many
objects relating to the Lombok expedition found in various other
Dutch collections, including the Museum Bronbeek in Arnheim, the
Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen in Amsterdam and the
Volkenkundig Museum Gerardus van Leeuw in Groningen.
Opium trade
The motive behind this lurid story of greed and cruelty is
opium. The lucrative trade in this precious raw material which
assured instant wealth to those who handled it was once
controlled by the Dutch colonial government. The Dutch operated
several opium factories where the opium intended for consumption
in Asia was ironically sold in packets with the inscription "Je
Maintiendrai" printed clearly on the flap. The Dutch obviously
did not agree to the raja of Lombok joining them in this
immensely profitable business. Therefore, according to Alfons van
der Kraan in his study Lombok: Conquest, Colonization and
Underdevelopment, 1840-1940, when the rebellious raja ordered
arms from Singapore, the Dutch authorities were able intervene
under the pretext the Balinese were oppressing the native Sasak
population. The Dutch really intended to secure the opium trade,
as well as a safe supply harbor for their steamers. The Dutch
sent 4,400 soldiers who were at first accepted by the Balinese,
until the Balinese discovered that the colonial power only wished
to safeguard its opium interests.
On the night of Aug. 15, the Balinese attacked the Dutch. The
result was over a hundred Balinese casualties and three hundred
Dutch soldiers killed or injured. The Balinese then continued to
claim taxes from the Sasak population after having seized a huge
cache of guns. The most serious defeat inflicted on the Dutch
Colonial Army in the East Indies was to have even more serious
consequences for the still victorious Balinese nobles in Lombok.
Retaliation was swift. Three months later the raja's palace in
Tjakra Negara was conquered. The immense treasury of the Balinese
raja, consisting of thousands of kilograms of silver
rijksdaalders, dollars and pesetas together with gold coins from
all corners of the world, jewels and precious objects covered
with gems, was rounded off by seemingly endless supply of gold
ingots. Witnessed by a Dutch scientist living on Lombok, this was
officially plundered and stolen by soldiers. Jan Brandes managed
to save some valuable manuscripts, but the violence inflicted by
convicts who were sent to help gather the spoils triggered a
serious nervous disorder on his way back to the Netherlands.
Part of the spoils remained in Batavia with the Bataviaasch
Genootschap, the oldest Dutch academic society based in Batavia.
The treasure eventually found its way into the collection of the
National Museum in Jakarta after Indonesia's independence in
1945. The rest was shipped back to the Netherlands where the gold
and silver was brought to the Mint in Utrecht to be melted down
in order to replenish the national cash reserves. Crates of the
valuable collection were stored in the Nederlandsche Bank and,
with help of Jonkheer Victor de Stuers, some of the treasures
were directed to various museums.
Part of the treasure was collected by De Stuers and displayed
at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden until World War II.
After Indonesia's independence the treasure disappeared into
oblivion until July 1, 1977, when the Netherlands government
returned almost half of it to Indonesia in response to the UNESCO
decree.
This collection forms the back-bone of the display at the
Kunsthal in Rotterdam where only a fraction of the former glory
of the raja of Lombok is shown. Some of the objects come from the
Museum National in Jakarta and other Dutch museums. The visitor's
imagination is left to wonder at the real extent of the treasury
procured through the sale of opium. An edifying exhibition, and
an interesting tale to be understood by those able to read Ewald
Vanvugt's book De Schatten van Lombok. Unfortunately the book has
not been translated into Indonesian or English.