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)