The Hunter Thompson Collection
RESEARCH ON OLD JAVANESE GOLD IN THE TROPENMUSEUM AMSTERDAM

Surprisingly, research on old Javanese gold has been neglected
for a long time. Until recently the mainstream of Javanese
archaeology and art history was concerned with the excavation of
and research on the larger stone monuments and sculptures and to
a lesser degree with the study of bronze artefacts.
The almost total silence with regard to old Javanese gold is in
stark contrast to its importance in Java and its worldwide fame
in ancient times. Thus, Indian and Greek texts dating from the
first centuries of our era describe Java as being rich in grain
and gold. This is corroborated by the numerous finds of old
Javanese gold. In fact, gold objects by far outnumber any other
ancient Javanese remains. They consist of coins, jewellery,
ritual objects, and images of gods. Gold items were apparently
available to broad layers of society, although Java seems to have
imported its gold from elsewhere, probably Sumatra or Kalimantan,
for only few deposits of gold and no traces of ancient gold
mining have been found on the island.

By Marijke Klokke

The art collector, Hunter Thompson, has played an important role
in awakening recent interest in old Javanese gold. With his
financial support, an exhibition was set up in the National
Museum in Singapore in 1988 and an accompanying catalogue was
published (Miksic 1988). A more extensive -- and for the time
being the most encompassing -- work on old Javanese gold focusing
on the Hunter Thompson collection was published in 1990 (Miksic
1990). Finally, contact between Wilhelmina H. Kal, the Southeast
Asia curator in the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, and Hunter
Thompson, brought the Hunter Thompson collection, almost 500
pieces, to the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam in 1992 for research and
an exhibition in 1993. The collection was sent to Berlin for
technical analysis and a seminar was organized in the
Tropenmuseum in 1993. The papers given at the seminar have now
been published (Kal 1994).

FUTURE AND CURRENT RESEARCH
After a summary, a preface, and an introduction by the editor,
John N. Miksic examines old Javanese gold from the point of view
of an archaeologist; Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer applies the
stylistic approach for dating objects to three of the gold pieces
in the Hunter Thompson collection; Wahyono Martowikrido, for the
first time, describes the spectacular gold hoard consisting of
coins, jewellery, and ritual objects amounting to a total of c.
32 kg, which was found in Wonoboyo in October 1990; and Josef
Riederer presents the results of the technical analysis of the
Hunter Thompson collection which was carried out in Berlin.
The conclusion which inevitably forces itself most upon the
reader is that a great deal of research is still needed in all
the four disciplines these four scholars represent: archaeology;
art history; anthropology; and technology. Miksic indicates five
gaps in the archaeological research which should be given
priority: research into ancient mines; village level smithies;
the persistence of pre-classical styles into recent times; the
tools used by goldsmiths; and, finally, gold as a measure of
value. The stylistic method applied by Lunsingh Scheurleer seems
to be fruitful for dating the objects and she will be expanding
it in the future (see also Lunsingh Scheurleer 1994). The most
important conclusions from the technical analysis are that silver
seems to have been used
abundantly in early gold objects, to be replaced by copper in
later items, and that a considerable range of techniques was
applied by the ancient Javanese goldsmiths. Supported by the
results of the stylistic method, further technical research may
refine our knowledge of the kind of materials and techniques used
in particular periods and may help to distinguish recent
imitations from ancient objects.

The high technological achievement in ancient Javanese
gold-working was also alluded to by Jan Fontein, who gave an
informal talk on July 8 1994 for a small group of mainly Dutch
specialists in various related fields on the occasion of the
publication of the papers. Having investigated the weights, he
concluded that the scales of the goldsmiths were surprisingly
accurate.

Despite its preliminary character the book published by the
Tropenmuseum is a step further in the research of old Javanese
gold. Moreover, it may serve as an example of fruitful scholarly
co-operation. Hopefully the research will be continued.

REFERENCES
Kal, Wilhelmina H. (ed.), "Old Javanese gold (4th-15th century):
an archaelolmetrical approach". Amsterdam: KIT, Tropenmuseum.
[Bulletin Royal Tropical Institute 334]

Lunsingh Scheurleer, Pauline,'Ancient gold jewellery from Central
Java', Arts of Asia 24-4:44-54

Miksic, John N., "Small finds: ancient Javanese gold". Singapore:
National Museum, 1988

Miksic, John N., "Old Javanese gold". Singapore: Ideation, 1990