Nusantara Museum

Nusantara Museum was an ethnographic museum in Delft that collected and displayed over 20,000 objects from Indonesia. The collection included ceremonial cloths, musical instruments, and traditional art pieces from various island communities.

The museum was founded in 1910 from a collection originally created in 1864 to teach students about cultures of the Dutch East Indies. This collection grew over decades and helped shape understanding of Indonesian society.

The museum displayed the diverse cultural world of the Indonesian archipelago through carefully arranged objects from different regions and communities. Visitors could learn about the varied lifestyles and artistic traditions of island peoples through these collections.

The museum was housed in Sint-Agathaklooster in Delft and displayed its collections there until closing. Visitors interested in the objects can view them today at the National Museum of World Cultures in Leiden.

The collection held rare treasures such as the Hasapi lute from the Toba people of Sumatra and ceremonial textiles from East Sumba. These specialized objects represented deep craft traditions of specific island cultures.

Location: Delft

Inception: 1911

Founders: Indische Instelling

Official opening: March 10, 1910

Part of: Delft Municipal Museums

GPS coordinates: 52.01245,4.35486

Latest update: December 14, 2025 14:24