Exhibition is dedicated to the artifacts of the Batak

n Paris, at the Museum Quai Branly, there is a complete section on the Indonesian archipelago, from Merauke to Papua.

The collections of specific groups in Indonesia are now under the expert guidance of Constance de Monbrison, the curator of the Indonesian collection.

The collections originate from various sources, including those from the former Museum of Mankind, Trocadero, Paris, and private donations from French and Dutch collectors or travellers.

A substantial section of the Batak collection here in Paris was acquired in 2001 by the French state from the Barbier-Mueller collection of the southeast Asian archipelago in Geneva -- or again from direct donations over the past two centuries.

Jean-Paul Barbier-Mueller himself undertook several journeys to this area beginning from the late 1960s.

Guest curator of the small but brilliant show of 94 artifacts and textiles -- representing the cream of Quai Branly's artifacts, together with loans, particularly from the Netherlands -- is ethnologist Peter ter Keurs.

Jakarta Post article