Jakarta, October 15, 2024 - After being closed for repairs and revitalisation due to a fire in 2023, the National Museum of Indonesia (NMI) officially reopened to the public on October 15, 2024. The newly renovated museum features an updated storyline, including a new section on objects collected during colonial wars and their repatriation.
Among the collections displayed in this new exhibition is Gayot Lombok, a palanquin from the Puri Cakranegara (Royal Palace), of Lombok. The research that contributed to the new display was completed with support through the Australia Indonesia Museum (AIM) project, which is supported by the Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII) through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
The Gayot Lombok was one of the objects used in the Workshop on the Assessment of the Significance of Museum Objects Using the Significance 2.0 Method on 7-8 August 2024. The workshop involved a collaboration between the Indonesian Heritage Agency (Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology), Deakin University, Western Australian Museum (WAM), and Southeast Asia Museum Services (SEAMS).
Through the workshop, participants were introduced to the Significance 2.0 approach, which helps them to assess the historical, cultural, and artistic value of each museum object. Participants took part in a hands-on practice session in assessing the significance of several collections of the National Museum of Indonesia using the method.
Rully Handiani (Curator of Museum Collections), National Museum of Indonesia, shared that ,
“Gayot or the palanquin of the King of Lombok is one of the leading collections at the National Museum. Why? Because it is one of the pieces of evidence of the attack on Puri Cakranegara by the Dutch in 1894. We display this collection in the repatriation exhibition as an introduction to other Lombok collections. Fortunately, thanks to the significance study, we were able to obtain additional narratives to enrich the story line of this exhibition.”
The Gayot Lombok will also be featured in the updated ‘Tetangga: people, places, and objects across borders’ online exhibition which will feature objects from the National Museum of Indonesia, the Jakarta History Museum, the Jakarta Maritime Museum, the Jakarta Wayang Museum, Museum of Fine Art and Ceramics, and Western Australian Museum.
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