National Museum (Indonesia)
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| National Museum Museum Nasional |
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 Front view of the museum. The elephant statue has given more popular name to the museum, instead of the official name. |
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| Established | 1778 |
| Location | Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Jakarta Pusat, Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Type | Archaeology museums |
| Website | National Museum of Indonesia |
The National Museum of Indonesia (Indonesian: Museum Nasional, popularly known as Elephant Museum (Indonesian: Museum Gajah) is an archeological, historical, ethnological, and geographical museum located in Jakarta.
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[edit] History
On April 24, 1778, a group of Dutch intellectuals established a scientific institution under the name Bataviaasch Genotschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, (Royal Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences). This private body had the aim of promoting research in the field of arts and sciences, especially in history, archaeology, ethnography and physics, and publish the various findings.
One of the founders - JCM Radermacher - donated a building and a collection of cultural objects and books, which were of great value to start off a museum and library for the society. Due to the growing collections, General Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles built a new premises on Jalan Majapahit No. 3 at the beginning of the 19th century and named it the Literary Society. In the 1862 the Dutch East Indian government decided to build a new museum that would not only serve as an office but also could be used to house, preserve and display the collections.
The Museum was officially opened in 1868 and became known as Gedung Gajah (Elephant House) or Gedung Arca (House of Statues). It was called Gedung Gajah on account of the bronze elephant statue in the front yard donated by King Chulalongkorn of Siam in 1871. It was also called Gedung Arca because a great variety of statues from different periods are on display in the house.
On February 29, 1950 the Institution became the Lembaga Kebudayaan Indonesia (Indonesian Culture Council) and on September 17, 1962 it was handed over to the Indonesian government and became the Museum Pusat (Central Museum). By decree of the Minister of Education and Culture No. 092/0/1979 of May 28, 1979 it was renamed the Museum Nasional. The Museum Nasional is not only a centre for research and study into the national and cultural heritage. In 2007, a new building next to the old one opened, featuring many artifacts from prehistoric times to modern times.
[edit] Collections
The museum has a collection of 61,600 prehistoric and anthropological artifacts, and 5,000 archeological artifacts from all over Indonesia. The museum stores some stone age artifacts such as menhir and ancient weapons from Indonesia.
The National Museum of Indonesia has the richest and the largest collection of Hindu-Buddhist art of ancient Indonesia. The Hindu-Buddhist sculptures, relics and inscriptions was collected from Java, Bali, Sumatra, and Borneo, all are in display in the lobby, the central hall and the central atrium of the museum. The centerpiece collection also the largest artifact of the museum is the statue of Adityavarman depicted as Bhairava. This statue is more than 4 meters tall and discovered from Rambahan, Padangroco, West Sumatra. One of the most prized collection of the museum is the statue of Prajnaparamita. Dubbed as the most beautiful sculpture of ancient Java, the goddess of transcendental wisdom is displayed in the treasure room on the second floor, together with gold and precious artifacts such as the famous Wonoboyo Hoard.
The museum also houses a large and complete collection of ancient Chinese ceramics. It has one of the best and the most complete collections of Chinese ceramics discovered outside China. The ceramics dated from Han, Tang, Sung, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasty is displayed in the museum.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] Literature
- Lenzi, Iola (2004). Museums of Southeast Asia. Singapore: Archipelago Press. pp. 200. ISBN 981-4068-96-9.
[edit] External links
Media related to National Museum (Indonesia) at Wikimedia Commons- National Museum of Indonesia
Coordinates: 6°10′34″S 106°49′18″E / 6.17611°S 106.82167°E
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