The National Museum of Indonesia reopened to the public today with an exhibition of looted heritage repatriated over the past 70 years, including the looted cache of jewels known as the "Lombok treasure", which was returned by the Netherlands in July 2023.
The museum has been closed for restoration since a devastating fire ripped through the building on 16 September 2023.
The show titled Repatriation Exhibition: The Return of Cultural Heritage and Knowledge of the Archipelago will run alongside Beating Nekara, Watering the Fire (both until 31 December 2024), which details how the Museum Nasional Indonesia (MNI) was rebuilt and repaired.
Indonesia’s coordinating minister for human development and culture Muhadjir Effendy attended a reopening ceremony last week and spoke about the role of museums in educating younger generations about the country’s history and culture.
The acting head of the Indonesia Heritage Agency (IHA), Ahmad Mahendra, announced that the museum's full restoration will take three years and ultimately “emphasise the function of the museum as a public space that also serves as a source of knowledge and fun inspiration."
Meanwhile, Ni Luh Putu Chandra Dewi, the museum's Person in Charge of Unit, explained that the museum’s plans involve “a gradual transformation with digitisation of the collection management and introducing new ways of presenting…including application of digital technology in exhibitions to create more interactive experiences, such as the use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual tours."
Beating Nekara, Watering the Fire will document the fire and its aftermath, and show how the museum used data and multimedia reconstruction in the refurbishment. MNI’s statement says it aims to “transparently answer public curiosity” about the fire as well as address concerns about its preparedness for possible future disaster mitigation.
The main show will present more than 2,500 repatriated historical and cultural objects. In the period between 1977 and 2019, 1,750 objects were repatriated to Indonesia, with 760 more in 2023 and 2024. Some 300 selected collections were returned between 1978 and 2023 from the Netherlands, which colonised what is now Indonesia from 1602 to 1949.
Along with the Royal Lombok Heritage Collection, the display includes the Pita Maha Collection of 1930s Balinese painting, which was returned in 2023 after being stored in the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam since the 1950s. The exhibition also includes the Singhasari Statues, which were returned last year, Prince Diponegoro’s Collection, the Nusantara Museum Collection and the Klungkung Keris Collection. The show allows “the community to reunite with the inheritance of our ancestors and receive the treasure of their knowledge,” a statement says.