Fine Art and Ceramic Museum, Art and ceramics museum in Old Town district, Jakarta, Indonesia
The Fine Art and Ceramic Museum occupies a neoclassical building with eight grand columns framing its entrance in West Jakarta. Inside, multiple galleries house ceramics, paintings, and sculptures gathered from across Asia and Europe.
Completed on 12 January 1870, the building served as the Court of Justice (Raad van Justitie) of the Dutch East Indies, known as Paleis van Justitie. During the Japanese occupation it was used by KNIL troops, then as an Indonesian military dormitory and logistics warehouse. From 1967 to 1973 it housed the West Jakarta Mayor's Office, and on 20 August 1976 President Soeharto inaugurated it as the Fine Art and Ceramic Museum.
The painting galleries are arranged by period, from the Raden Saleh room (1880–1890) through the Hindia Jelita, Persagi and Japanese occupation rooms to the contemporary art room. The ceramics collection spans local wares from the 14th-century Majapahit era and pieces from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Europe dating from the 16th to the early 20th century.
The galleries are best visited during daylight hours when natural light fills the exhibition spaces. The location near Kota Station makes it easy to reach from other parts of the city.
The building was designated a protected cultural heritage site on 10 January 1972, two years before it housed the Jakarta Museum and History Department and four years before Soeharto opened it as an art hall. Its facade keeps eight large columns, the feature noted when the listing was made.
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