Sang Adiwira: Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono II Exhibition

Table Of Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. The History Of Sultan Hamengku Buwono II
• 3. The Prajuritan Uniform
• 4. Batik
• 5. Closing
• 6. Other Information

Entrance ticket with a picture of a palace soldier

1. Introduction

Sharing my little experience while visiting the Adhyatmaka Temporary Exhibition, Sang Adiwira: Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono II, held by the Yogyakarta Palace, this exhibition is dedicated to sharing information about the life of Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono II with the theme of attire, resting palaces, cutlery and the architecture of the king from before and after the throne. 

The exhibition located at Plataran Kedhaton Kraton Yogyakarta with the ticket price of IDR 8,000 the exhibition can be visited directly on the health protocols, as well as a combined ticket for palace visits such as museums, the residence of the sultan, ancient artifacts such as ceramics, ancient batik, gamelan, paintings, and personal objects of the king, and other interesting at price IDR 15,000. If visitors arrive at the right time, they will have the chance to observe various traditional palace ceremonies, such as Nyebar Udhik-udhik, Caos Dahar, Grebeg, and others.

The exhibition was officially opened on Thursday, October 29, 2020 and can be directly visited on Friday, October 30, 2020, closing on Sunday, January 31, 2021, tourist visits to the palace  from 08.00 am - 02.00 pm and are closed for repairs on Monday.

2. The History Of Sultan Hamengku Buwono II

Due to official Kraton Jogja FB, explains that in 1810, two years after being enthroned, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono II was impeached by Marshal Daendels due to his disagreement with state protocols regulating the height of seats and the many criticisms of taxes in coastal areas. 

Therefore, Raden Mas Surojo replaced the Second Sultan as the king titled Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono III. A year later, Sultan HB II returned to the throne after Daendels' rule was passed to Raffles. However, due to the Sultan's strong anti-colonial stance, another political conflict occurred. 

In June 1812, the Second Sultan had to abdicate his throne again due to the Geger Sepehi/Sepoy incident. The Sultan was then exiled to Penang until 1814 and to Saparua, Ambon in 1816. Sultan HB II was then able to return to Java in 1826.

 

3. The Prajuritan Uniform

The Prajuritan uniform worn by RM, Sundoro when he was still prince, were some of the collections exhibited at the Sri Sultan HB II show.

The Prajuritan uniform worn by RM, Sundoro

Due to official Kraton Jogja FB, explains that as written on the palace archives in 1788, RM Sundoro wore a warrior outfit when accompanying Sri Sultan HB I to entertain Ideler Jan Greeve at Pesanggrahan Resanegaran. In addition, according to Babad Ngayogyakarta, the attire was worn by Prince Adipati Anom during his state visits to Surakarta in 1763 and 1765. Based on these sources, it is known that this outfit can only be worn by the enthroned Sultan and the crown prince. Although the written archive of this outfit has existed since Sri Sultan HB V, the visual documents were only discovered during the time of Sri Sultan HB VI. The written archives of the Sri Sultan HB V era are the same as the palace archives in 1788 which mention details of clothing such as plain black velvet, gold-hued skullcaps and garuda mungkur ornaments on the back. This provision continues to be preserved as a cross-period fashion code.

 

4. Batik

In addition, next the display of batik motifs which the purpose of the use was regulated by Sultan HB II.

Batik motifs (Awisan Dalem) for royal relatives

Due to official Kraton Jogja FB, explains that in addition to strict military regulations, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono II also issued a regulation on batik motifs (Awisan Dalem) for royal relatives. In the palace archives in 1788, it is written that the motifs of sawat, parang rusak, huk, kampu bangun-tulak, and lisah teleng are Awisan-Dalem which is not allowed to be worn even by princes. The rule was then elaborated in 1801. It is stated that the motifs of sawat batik, parang rusak, semen, kawungsari, udan-riris, cumengkirang, huk, sembagen ombaking toya are not permitted to be worn as jarik, udheng, or kampuh. Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono II also curated a batik motif signifying his legitimacy called brangtamangu. Brangta means falling in love, mangu means doubt. The unique characteristic of this motif is the pattern of the dove and peacock facing each other, symbolizing love.

The next exhibition area, shows the cutlery, and architecture belonging to the king, is in a separate space and can not be photographed since the original items belonging to the king are among the objects on display, so they are afraid of being misused irresponsible parties.

5. Closing

Ms. Yuliati palace guide

Usually we are guided by a palace guide who is on duty that day and in my opinion this is very helpful to know interesting objects that we don't know the its history. Yesterday, when I visited the exhibitions I have been guided by Ms. Yuliati, she was very friendly and patience, she explaining by detail the beauty of the Yogyakarta Palace from the buildings, batik, keris, and all of my questions. 

Due to the information, this kind exhibitions are not always held by the palace but there is a possibility that next year there will be a next exhibitions for the next sultan (Sultan HB III). Overall, after seeing the Sultan up close, especially his personal belongings, the exhibition is very impressive. It is very easy to access information on public events and activities through the palace's social media, such as Instagram, Facebook @keraton jogja.

6. Other Information

Exhibition operating hours:

Sunday to Tuesday

Open: 08.00 am

Closed: 02.00 pm

Monday is closed for maintenance

Ticket price:

IDR 8,000 Adhyatmaka Temporary Exhibition, Sang Adiwira: Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono II

IDR 15,000 Combined ticket for visits to the palace 

The exhibition will be held from 29 October 2020 to 31 January 2021.

Plataran Kedhaton Kraton Yogyakarta👈 Maps