Cultural dynamics and diversity of Sumatra: the New Museum project

Since 2004, Museum Nasional Indonesia in Jakarta, and Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden, the Netherlands, have worked closely together in several projects. The purpose of this cooperation is sharing knowledge about the collections of Indonesian art and material culture in both museums, which are often regarded as being the two best in the world and which share a common collection history.

The present project is called The New Museum, and runs from June 2007 until June 2010.
This name is chosen, because Museum Nasional Indonsia is on a large scale renovating the permanent exhibitions in the old building of the museum.

Besides contributions of the two museums, the project is mainly funded by the Netherlands Culture Fund (HGIS-C), a mutual fund of the Netherlands Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education, Culture and Science). Also, Bapak Hari Untoro Dradjat, Director General of History and Archaeology, Department of Culture and Tourism, Republic of Indonesia, provided budget for the cooperation project.

In the original description of the project the purpose was formulated as follows:
To further develop professionalism in the activities of the National Museum in Jakarata, Indonesia. To develop, at a national and international level, a recognizable place for the National Museum in the cultural field. Staff members of the National Museum will get extra training and extra experience. In Indonesia the money available for such activities is limited. The cooperation with Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden is particularly important, since the history of both museums, Jakarta and Leiden, partly runs parallel.
 

The targets of the projects are:

  1. On-the-job training of professionals from the National Museum of Indonesia; 
  2. to stimulate the national and international role of the National Museum in the cultural field; particularly in relation to other museums in
  Southeast Asia; 
  3. to obtain more knowledge on the collection in Jakarta. The comparison with the Leiden collection is crucial in this respect; 
  4. to improve accessibility of collection and documentation of the National Museum; for the local as well as the international cultural field. 

The expected results were formulated as follows:

  1. One international workshop in Jakarta. This workshop, on conservation, will be organized in close cooperation with ICCROM/Rome.
  It will also include museums professionals from other Southeast Asian countries;
  2. the renovation of the old display in the old building (Gedung A) of the Bataviaasch Genootschap aan de Jalan Merdeka Barat;
  3. one large exhibition in the new building;
  4. to mount a new textile exhibition in the National Museum;
  5. to exchange staff from both museums to share each others experience;
  6. to advise with the realization of a new library and documentation centre;
  7. to advise with the planning of the new storage;
  8. to advise with the enstallment of a new registration system;
  9. to advise and enstall a new pr/marketing department in the national Museum. 
 

The exhibition

One of the results of The New Museum project is a joint exhibition on the cultural dynamics and diversity of the island of Sumatra.

In Museum Nasional Indonesia the exhibition was shown under the title Treasures from Sumatra, from 8 June – 8 September 2009, and in Museum Volkenkunde as Sumatra tercinta – The beloved island, from 14 October 2009 – 25 April 2010.The idea for this subject was that the island of Sumatra has always had a mythical dimension. Marco Polo had probably been on the west coast of the island. Since the early days of western exploration all kinds of legendary stories have roamed around. Sumatra was seen as the island where gold could be found (which was true) and it was the island of mysterious kingdoms. The beauty and craftmanship of Sumatran art and material have always attracted collectors, researchers, traders and adventurers of diverse cultural background. In general, outside influences have always been important for Sumatra’s dynamic history. Recent excavations in Padang Lawas, Jambi and Palembang and the discovery of Chinese shipwrecks with large amounts of trade ceramics have thrown new light on Sumatra’s fascinating history of trade contacts, of religious centers and cultural diversity.

Opening of the Treasures of Sumatra exhibition in Jakarta, 8 June 2009
From left to right: Dr Steven Engelsman, Mrs. Retno Sulistianingsih, director MNI, Dr Nikolaos van Dam, Dutch Ambassador in Jakarta and Bapak Hari Untoro, Director General.

Also a book is one of the results of this cooperation. It is called Sumatra – Crossroads of Cultures and is published by KITLV Press, Leiden.

The subject of the exhibition and the book was chosen by Retno Sulistianingsih, Director of Museum Nasional Indonesia, and Pieter ter Keurs, at that time curator in Museum Volkenkunde. They were project coordinators of the project ‘The New Museum’ and initially the editors of the book. They also invited museums in Sumatra, in Jambi, Palembang, Medan and Padang, to participate and cooperate in the exhibition. Since Pieter ter Keurs left Museum Volkenkunde, his function as one of the project coordinators and editors of the book was taken over by Drs. Francine Brinkgreve. She is now also curator of Insular Southeast Asia in Museum Volkenkunde. Authors, editors and photographers are staff members of either Museum Nasional or Museum Volkenkunde or are in some way related to one or other of the two museums.

The purpose of the book is to place the beautiful objects shown in the exhibition in the context of the rich cultural history of Sumatra. In Sumatra: Crossroads of Cultures the authors, all of them anthropologists or archaeologists, tell how, through the centuries, this ‘Gold Island’ came into contact with cultures from East and West, and how cultural diversity and dynamics are closely related to trade and politics. But the manner in which these influences were adopted and adapted, their incorporation into Sumatra’s diverse cultures, came from Sumatran peoples themselves.

With the book, in which unique examples are shown from the collections of Museum Nasional, Museum Volkenkunde and provincial and site museums in Sumatra itself, the editors hope to contribute to a better understanding and appreciation of the cultures of Sumatra, as part of the rich cultural heritage of Indonesia. 

Cultural dynamics
and diversity of Sumatra:
the New Museum project

Contents
- Prehistoric times
- The Trade
- The Sriwijaya kingdom
- Script
- Chinese influences
- Islam
- Court arts
- European influences