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.