Having A Notre-Dame Church Recovery Experience, The Government Consults With France Handling The Historic Collection Of National Museums

The announcement board about the closure of the National Museum after the fire incident in the building on Saturday afternoon, September 16, 2023. (VOI/Rizky Sulistio)

JAKARTA - The government consulted with the French government regarding the handling of a collection of historical objects affected by the National Museum or Elephant Museum fires. Acting (Plt) Head of Museum and Cultural Heritage (MCB), Ahmad Mahendra, said that his party had asked France to share experiences in restoring historical artifacts after the fire that hit the Notre-Dame Cathedral Church to be applied to the handling of the National Museum case. "We have spoken with the French government specifically, because of the experience of the experts there in carrying out post-Notre-Dame fire recovery in Paris in 2019," Mahendra said in his statement, Wednesday, September 20. "We have also discussed with the Dutch government various aspects of recovery, especially regarding the construction of cultural heritage buildings and collection management," Mahendra continued. Since Monday, September 18, the Special Team for Handling the Indonesian National Museum Unit (MNI) has started the inventory process and data collection of affected historical objects. Hundreds of collections of historical objects have been successfully evacuated to temporary storage areas and studied for the extent of damage experienced. "We are currently in the process of identifying, analyzing the extent of damage, cleaning and handling of early-stage conservation. From the affected historical objects, the collection that was successfully evacuated and researched on Tuesday is a collection of Bronze Gallerys. Some of the collections found are still quite intact and can be identified immediately,” said Mahendra. In the context of recovery, the Special Team for Handling the MNI Unit will work together and involve conservator experts, archaeologists, anthropologists, culture, history, curators, and academics to prepare MNI recovery plans in the future. "The main concern of this collaboration is also aimed at improving the security system and securing collections of historical objects located in all museums and cultural heritages in Indonesia," he said. It is known that the National Museum caught fire on Saturday, September 16. Mahendra estimates that as many as 817 collections and historical objects will also catch fire. “Collects and historical objects affected are collections made of bronze, ceramics, terakota, and wood as well as collections of miniatures and replicas of prehistoric objects found intact and lightly damaged to severe, ” Mahendra said some time ago. After the fire, several steps and actions have been taken, such as the formation of a cross-unit investigation and evacuation team, closure of six affected rooms, and limited closure of one affected room for further investigation. Based on information received by his party, the flames that scorched 6 rooms in Building A of the Indonesian National Museum came from behind Building A. "We emphasize that this fire did not start in the building. It is known that the fire came from behind Building A of the Indonesian National Museum," said Mahendra.

The initial suspicion of the fire, Mahendra said, was after a special team for handling the Indonesian National Museum unit received an initial report from the results of the police investigation process regarding the initial source of the fire. "The fire caused several rooms on the back of Building A to be affected," said Mahendra.