Mpu Tantular Museum, State museum in Sidoarjo, Indonesia
The Mpu Tantular Museum is a state institution in Sidoarjo that displays ancient weapons, pottery, traditional textiles, and ceremonial objects from East Java. The collection spans multiple exhibition halls, showcasing handcrafted and artistic works from different periods of the region's history.
The collection began in 1933 with photographs gathered by a German-born collector and officially opened as a museum in 1937. This early founding made it one of the region's oldest institutions of its kind.
The museum is named after Mpu Tantular, a 14th-century Javanese poet of the Majapahit era who wrote the Kakawin Arjunawijaya and Sotasoma. Its collection is grouped into ten categories, among them geologika, biologika, etnografika, historika, numismatika, heraldika, seni rupa, teknologika, keramologika and filologika. Visitors can look for the Durga Mahisasuramarhini statue, which came from Komdak Jatim.
The museum opens Tuesday through Sunday, and visitors can find their way around independently or book guided tours in Indonesian and English. Plan enough time to move through the different exhibition halls at a leisurely pace.
The museum is named after Mpu Tantular, a 14th-century Javanese poet of the Majapahit era who wrote the Kakawin Arjunawijaya and Sotasoma. Its collection reached 15,600 objects by 2021, grouped into ten categories from geologika to filologika, though only a small part is on display for lack of exhibition space.
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