Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. Vol. 3. Museum Pusat, Jakarta

Kodansha International Ltd, Tokyo, New York and San Francisco, 1982 Book. Good. Hardcover. English text; Hardcover (cloth without dust jacket - as issued. In splicase.); 175 pages with colour and black-and-white illustrations throughout.; 27 x 38 cm; 3 kg; Used book in good condition with minor scuffs and signs of wear in the slipcase and hardcover cloth. The spine is slightly faded as usual. Interior in very good condition with minor signs of wear.; This volume was originally published by Kodansha as part of a limited deluxe 12 volume set in 1974, this critically acclaimed and now scarce masterpiece has been issued in a standard edition with no compromise in the quality of scholarship or production, handsomely cloth-bound with an attractive slipcase.; "The Museum Pusat (formerly the Museum Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootshap van Kunsten en Welenschappen), situated at Jakarta, has an extremely extensive and valuable series of collections concerning Indonesia. One of the most famous of these is the Collection of Foreign Ceramics. It used to be known as the 'de Flines Collection' from the name of the Dutch collector Mr. Egbert Willem van Orsoy de Flines, who was my predecessor as curator of this collection from 1932. The Collection of Foreign Ceramics at present consists of 4,500 pieces and some 500 sherds. The objects in the collection vary greatly as to their period and their country of origin. Despite this, in Indonesia they all used to be termed 'Chinese porcelain', since people were unable to distinguish between the different wares. In fact, they come from China, Vietnam, Cambodja, Thailand, Japan, Persia, Arabia, The Netherlands and Germany. In this book, none of the last four countries is represented, since the quality of the pieces we have is inferior. The most ancient pieces are of Chinese origin and date back to the Han dynasty, though we are still not sure with whom in Indonesia, China had relations: perhaps with Srivijaya in Sumatra (ca. 6th-14th century A.D.), or with the Sanjaya kingdom of Central Java (ca. 7th-10th century A.D.), or with the Majapahit kingdom in East Java (A.D. 1292-ca. 1500)." excerpt from the introduction by Abu Ridho, Curator of Ceramics Museum Pusat, 1982..