Textile Museum shines in shabby environs

By Hera Diani

JAKARTA (JP): Imagine a luxury mansion located right in the heart of the Bronx. That is probably a perfect analogy for the Textile Museum located at Jl. Aipda K.S. Tubun No. 4 in Central Jakarta.

If you go there drive slowly and keep a sharp lookout, because the building is hidden in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the nearby Tanah Abang market. And in front of the museum, a number of street vendors have taken up residence, further concealing the building.

It is a pity, too, because the building itself is a graceful and well-maintained structure.

Occupying some 1.5 hectares, the museum is divided into one main building, two office buildings on the left and back wing and a gallery.

The building was constructed in the 19th century. It was formerly the private mansion of a French citizen who later sold it to a Turkish council, who sold it to a Dutch man named Karel Christian Cruq in 1942.

Three years later, as the country was fighting for its independence, the house was occupied by the People's Security Agency, which used it as its headquarters.

After the proclamation of independence in 1945, the ownership of the house shifted from one party to another, including the now defunct ministry of social affairs.

The ministry signed the building over to governor Ali Sadikin, who originally planned to use it to store the city administration's archives.

But instead the building was used to display Indonesian traditional cloth, and was inaugurated on June 28, 1976, as the Textile Museum.

The idea to establish the museum came from Wastraprema, a group of Indonesian traditional textile lovers who were concerned that traditional textiles were being replaced by modern ones.

They donated their collections of traditional textiles, a total of 360 pieces, which became the museum's first collection.

Currently, the museum has some 1,162 pieces of traditional cloth, most of them antiques, from across the country.

"But we can only display 100 pieces at a time. Once a month we change the collection," the museum's director, Dewi Rudiati, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The museum's collection ranges from batik to pieces of tenun (woven) and jumputan (dyed) cloth. All are beautiful, unique and each region has its own speciality, showing how culturally rich Indonesia is.

"Our oldest piece is a piece of batik cloth from Cirebon, West Java, which was made in 1776," Dewi said.

The cloth was a banner that was once used to ward off misfortune in the Cirebon Palace.

The pieces, Dewi said, are obtained from provincial governors and private collectors.

According to her, the most difficult task for the museum is maintaining the cloth.

"Fortunately, we have laboratory equipment from Japan which can be used in the maintenance of the collection," she said.

Another unique aspect of the museum is the garden located behind the main building, where visitors will find some 44 species of flowers and plants that can be used as natural dyes.

Some of the plants in the garden are the andong (Cordyline fruticosa), which produces a green dye, the puring (Codiacum variegatum), which produces a yellow dye, and the ketepeng kebo flower (Cassia alata linn), which also produces a yellow dye.

Every day, some 30 people, mostly foreigners, pay a visit to the museum. Besides enjoying the beautiful pieces on display, many visitors also take a batik-making course.

The course costs Rp 150,000 (US$13.64) for four two-hour classes. For foreigners, however, the price is Rp 250,000.

"But the course is free if you only take one class. Many students do that during their holidays," Dewi said.

The course also includes lessons about natural coloring and textile conservation and maintenance.

"But because we are celebrating our 25th anniversary this month with numerous special events, there will be no classes until June 28," Dewi said.

The planned special events include a painting and photography exhibition at the gallery and classical music concerts by orchestras from France and Poland.

The museum (560-6613) is open Tuesday to Sunday, and is closed on national holidays.