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 honors its collection through jamasan, a traditional cleansing ceremony that maintains the spiritual and historical meaning of the artifacts. This practice weaves religious reverence into daily museum life and shows how local people keep their past alive.
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 building incorporates canvas into its construction, an unusual architectural solution that blends modern preservation techniques with local building practices. This combination of materials and methods reflects the museum's own approach to honoring the past.
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