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of a Dutch Governor Wearing the Willems Order (Raffles) (1869), and another by Basuki Abdullah, A Nude, (undated) were withdrawn from the auction of Christie's International Singapore, because the two paintings had been stolen from the National Museum in Jakarta.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