Neka Art Museum
A Collection of 300 Keris Daggers starts from a Belief
Have
you ever been to Neka Art Museum? The museum is located in the tourist
area of Ubud. The museum having become a tourist attraction draws many
travelers. It was established in 1978 and inaugurated by the Minister of
Education and Culture Daoed Joesoef on July 7, 1982. In the jubilee of
the Neka Art Museum (July 7, 2007), the museum belonging to Pande Wayan
Neka Suteja is equipped with the collection of kris dagger.It is said the concept of adding the kris dagger was inspired by the conviction of Pande Wayan Suteja Neka as the founder and director. When his wife Ni Gusti Made Srimin was sick, he had to struggle to make her recover. Therefore, he had to treat her to Singapore. Other than being tough, he was also very confident that his wife would certainly recover. Indeed because of his optimism, Ni Gusti Made Srimin finally recovered.
Seeing the endless struggles and prayers of her husband, Ni Gusti Made Srimin then paid tribute to her husband as an expression of gratitude. The award was in the form of moral support to make anything related to the Neka Art Museum. “Due to similar conviction, I also ask to be given the opportunity to collect kris dagger,” said Pande Wayan Suteja Neka.
Expansion to keris collection of the Neka Art Museum was officially opened by Jero Wacik, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia (July 22, 2007). The launch was also done by Prof. Dr. Tommy Koh, Chairman of the National Heritage Board and Ambassador - At - Large in the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs, Singapore. It was enabled because Suteja Neka is the Member of the Singapore Art Museum Board.
The Neka Art Museum displaying approximately 300 pieces of kris dagger including 27 pieces of heirloom kris, 100 old blades made by kris makers in the past (tangguh tua) and the remaining recent collection made by outstanding kris makers (tangguh Kamardikan). As a collector of kris dagger, Suteja Neka does not feel competent enough to reveal the existence of each kris dagger. “I feel the presence of vibration and intensity of the kris daggers,” he said.
According to this achiever of the Keris for the World and SNKI Award, in essence, there are two important reasons becoming the concept in developing the kris. They include the intention to spread information about the kris dagger as an artwork of Indonesian heritage having high value in line with the launch of the Indonesian kris as a Masterpieces of Humanity Heritage belonging to the whole nation in the world by the UNESCO on November 25, 2005.
In addition, the ancestor of Suteja Neka, namely Pande Pan Nedeng, was a kris maker during the period of Peliatan Kingdom, Gianyar. At that time, Nedeng was instructed by the third king I Dewa Agung Djelantik (1823-1845) to continue the making of kris and resume it to his offspring.www.bali-travelnews.com
