Textile Museum shines in shabby environs

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.