Textile Museum desires more collections

Triwik Kurniasari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 01/15/2009 1:01 PM

Emma Agus Bisri, head of Sirih Nanas Foundation, felt relief after she handed over pieces from her Betawi collection to the Textile Museum in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

The foundation, which specializes in education and preserving Betawi culture, donated four old batik cloths and four sarongs, a kebaya encim (traditional Betawi blouse) called Karancang Betawi and a set of red crystal betel pots.

“It’s about preserving Betawi culture. I hope that visitors, especially art lovers, will enjoy their beauty,” Emma told The Jakarta Post, adding that she had inherited these artifacts from her ancestors.

Besides Emma, two other foundation members, Hamidah Thamsir and Maharani Kemal, each donated one sarong.

Emma said all collectibles are between 75 and 100 years old, each of them having a different pattern.

One of the batiks reportedly belonged to a Dutch batik painter, Van Zuylen, and dates back to the 1920s to the 1930s.

“I hope this [the collection] will encourage other Betawi cloth collectors to donate to the museum,” she said.

Built in the 19th century and formerly a French private residence the museum is located on Jl. KS Tubun. It has about 1,800 cloth pieces from around the archipelago. Most of them are batik.

Judi Knight-Achjadi, an honorary curator at the museum, also encourages donations. She has given dozens of woven cloth and sarongs to the museum. Head of the museum, Dyah Damayanti, welcomes this.

“We only had seven Betawi cloths before members of Sirih Nanas Foundation gave us their pieces,” Dyah said.

“I hope more collectors will come forward with donations. You don’t need to worry because we will take good care of the cloth. We have a laboratory which examines the artifacts’ condition.”