Conserving Eastern Indonesian Artefacts

Australia is currently sponsoring a three-week workshop and training program at the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Museum in Kupang to help conserve fragile wooden and bamboo artefacts from Eastern Indonesia. Rare and precious cultural heritage items from Eastern Indonesia are commonly made of wood and bamboo, so it is anticipated the workshop will be of direct assistance to the Museum NTT in managing its unique collection. The program will be conducted from 1 to 18 April by Australian conservator Carolyn McLennan from the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer said the workshop would provide a “hands on” experience to show local museum staff how to identify vulnerable wooden and bamboo objects with active infestations, including demonstrations of fumigation techniques to preserve threatened items.

He added that Ms McLennan would also work with the NTT Museum to create a dedicated textile storage facility which would include the construction of textile storage racks to prevent damage caused by exposure to insects and light an Antara News article explains.

The project, which is sponsored by the Australian Government through the Australia- Indonesia Institute, will build on strong people-to-people relationships between Eastern Indonesian and Northern Australian cultural heritage specialists.