Smuggled antique ceramics expected back from Germany

Smuggled antique ceramics expected back from Germany

JAKARTA (JP): The government is expecting the return of some
1,000 pieces of ancient ceramics from the German government which
were found in waters off Sumatra two years ago, officials said on
Monday.

The ceramics were allegedly smuggled to Germany for auction.

Director of Archaeology at the Ministry of National Education,
Nunus Supardi, told reporters on Monday that 36 containers of the
underwater treasure were auctioned at the Nagel Auction House in
Stuttgart, Germany last month.

"The auction took place between Nov. 17 and Nov. 25. We are
awaiting the state's portion and a return of some 1,000 pieces of
the treasure," he said.

Separately, Director for Research and Exploration of Non-
Living Resources at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries, Safri Burhanuddin, revealed on Monday that the state
is expected to earn Rp 10 billion from its share in the auction.

"The auction involved a total of 16,152 lots. Each lot
contained between one to 500 items, such as ceramic plates, vases
and sculptures. The total result from the auction is 7.2 million
Deutschmark (Rp 29.6 billion)," Safri told The Jakarta Post.

The containers, he said, contain ancient ceramics from the
17th century Ching dynasty transported on a Chinese ship which
sank just off the island of Bangka.

The sunken treasure was then salvaged during February 1998 by
a local company together with an Australian company which then
auctioned it to auction house Nagel in Germany allegedly using
fake export documents and permits.

According to Nunus, the total treasure amounted to 43
containers but seven are believed to be in Australia.

The local company is currently being tried at the North
Jakarta Court.

Nunus admitted that Indonesia severely lags behind other
countries in its attempts to salvage or preserve sunken treasures
in its waters.

Chief of Documentation and Publication of the Archeology
Directorate, Junus Satrio Atmodjo, revealed that only 15 local
professional divers have been awarded certificates to conduct
underwater archeological excavation.

"But in practice, the company licensed to do the job ended up
buying information from local fishermen and those local fishermen
dived for them without proper safety knowledge".

"In some cases the company actually hired divers from
Australia or Germany who don't have a permit for archeological
excavation," Junus explained.

Looting

Not only are underwater artifacts at risk but even those which
are considered national treasures have also been stolen.

Junus noted expressed concern about the continued looting of
ancient statues and other artifacts from ancient temples and
sites.

In Prambanan temple, Central Java, heads of statues were
broken off and stolen recently.

Safri also revealed on Monday that a new Presidential Decree
has been issued to avoid possible offenses in the exploration of
underwater archeological treasures which obliges three officials
to monitor the exploration conducted by appointed companies.

"Under the new decree every explorative venture must be
monitored by security staff from the Navy, an archeologist, and
an officer from local administration or a ministry," Safri said.

The Presidential Decree No. 107/2000 on the National Committee
for the Removal and Use of Valuable Objects from Sunken Ships
also clearly states that an equal share of 50 percent profit is
split between the government and the company, he said.

"There are a total of 22 companies which have been awarded
permits to conduct such treasure exploration and their license
expires on Jan. 25 next year," Safri explained.

"The ministry is giving a six-month transition period for the
companies to renew their licenses," he said.

So far only one company, PT Adikencana Salvage, has submitted
an application to renew an exploration permit, he added.
(hdn/edt)