Triwindu colored by fakes and palace treasures

Triwindu colored by fakes and palace treasures

Kartika Bagus C., The Jakarta Post, Surakarta, Central Java

The Triwindu antique market in the heart of Surakarta, Central
Java, has been a mecca for art hunters since the 1960s. Even
tourist guides will take their guests to visit the market, which
is located on Jl. Diponegoro between Jl. Slamet Riyadi and
Mangkunegaran Castle.

The market, build during the reign of Mangkunegara VII,
however has had a facelift on not only on its look but also on
the antiques it offers. Many objects sold today are dominated by
bronze or brass imitations of genuine items.

Various statues and images of Buddha, Ganesha and Nyantuka
(canopied frog) can be found in rows. Porcelain and ceramics have
been used to produce fake ancient Chinese classical articles and
unique wooden masks.

Other curios include lamps in different sizes, candle sticks,
statuettes, glasses, dinner sets and decorations of fragile
materials. Prices of items in Triwindu depend on bargaining
skills with no fixed rates determined by the sellers.

Iskandar, a Triwindu antique shop owner from Trowulan,
Mojokerto in East Java, said most of the merchandise sold there
was not genuine.

As one of the earliest kiosk proprietors, selling curios since
1966, Iskandar said some of the 30 shops in Triwindu, including
his own, once in a while sold true antiques at very high prices.

"I keep only three lamps dating back to Dutch times, while the
rest are imitated items," he said, showing the genuine articles
of the colonial past.

In 1972, he got a 70-centimeter antique statue of Buddha
originally for only Rp 2,500 (now at U.S. cents 27). "The seller
had no idea of its age and I made a fortune by selling it for Rp
475,000 to a foreigner," he recalled with pride.

Iskandar, however, gave no clear reply when asked how he could
determine the value of an object, but said the skill could only
be gained by experience.

The majority of Triwindu curio shop owners complained about
their uncertain income. "It depends on tourists, who are fond of
such rarities," said Sastro, 61, who has sold antiques for 10
years.

Tri Parsini, tending the kiosk she inherited from her mother,
shared Sastro's grievance by admitting that she could earn
between Rp 6 million to Rp 20 million a day but then might get
nothing for the next 20 days.

Yet Triwindu had its heyday, too, as Basuki, another shop
owner, said. The peak years of the monetary crisis from 1997 to
1999 were described as a profitable time for antique sellers.

Basuki said the number of foreign tourists has declined since
2000, particularly following raids on foreigners by some radical
groups of Muslim, which scared most foreign tourists, and even
some domestic visitors, away.

Valuables from Surakarta Hadiningrat Palace as well as
Mangkunegaran Castle are reportedly available in Triwindu, though
it is not easy to obtain the genuine items without personal
approach or brokers' service.

Such palace or castle antiques are usually sold clandestinely
at sellers' residences instead of their kiosks, for fear of being
accused of having stolen the treasures.

Wahyu, 62, who admitted possessing several palace items, said
he kept his antique porcelain dishes and lamps at home, where he
would have business deals with prospective buyers.

In general, those in control of palace curios were reluctant
to reveal the origins of the rare articles though they are well
aware of the genuineness of the goods. "Somebody offered me the
items and I bought them because they have high sale value and
sell quickly," said Wahyu.

The loss of palace and castle property in Surakarta has been
well known, including the mysterious disappearance of the
palace's gamelan (musical orchestra) set several months ago.

After the police recovery of these stolen goods, the public
came to realize that a lot more may have been lost and that
Triwindu is only one of many other places through which such
valuables are illicitly sold.

Usman, 39, a local dweller, said he had been frequently
offered antiques from the palace and himself possessed some
porcelain dishes bearing the pictures of Pakoe Boewono (king of
Surakarta) and an ancient kris.

Satrio Hadinagoro, the son-in-law of Pakoe Boewono XII, made
no denial of the loss of court treasures. But he refuted public
speculation the sacred heirlooms had been sold at will and for no
reason at all.

"The royal family members like myself can of course sell their
own goods," he said, adding that the palace had once indeed been
indebted to other parties so that it had been forced to sell or
mortgage its valuables.

He argued that if the antiques were now offered in public,
they might have come from those who had previously bought the
items from the court, "rather than from insiders who stole them
for sale outside the palace."

The controversy over the flow of the palace treasures to the
Triwindu market has so far been more colored by rumors though
many circles are convinced of its truth. And it is such rumor
tinted phenomenon that renders Triwindu even more attractive,
particularly to foreign tourists.