Theft of antiquities

Theft of antiquities

From Merdeka

Two oil paintings, one by Raden Saleh, Portrait of a Dutch
Governor Wearing the Willems Order (Raffles) (1869), and another
by Basuki Abdullah, A Nude, (undated) were withdrawn from the
auction of Christie's International Singapore, because the two
paintings had been stolen from the National Museum in Jakarta.
The latest news was that 12 paintings, not two, had been stolen
from the same museum.

This is not the first time ancient articles were stolen from
the National Museum. In 1971, a number of ancient coins were
stolen. In September 1987, twenty articles including Chinese
ceramics from the Ming dynasty of the 15th/16th century were
gone. Perhaps more articles were stolen.

In Indonesia there are seventeen museums under the management
of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Apart from that there
are 133 other museums that are privately managed, among others
are the Mpu Tantular museum in Surabaya, Mangkunegoro Palace in
Solo, Yogyakarta Palace and Sonobudoyo museum. Whether these
museums have ever experienced thefts, nobody knows. But we often
read reports on the disappearance of articles and statues in
temples and other open archeological sites in this country. The
ethical code issued by the International Council of Museums
(ICOM) is often violated.

Collectors must stop buying antiquities from irresponsible
persons.

MUSTAFFA RIDWAN

Cirebon, West Java