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[[newspaper clipping]] See over on linkages THE JAKARTA POST AROUND THE ARCHIPELAGO FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1991 PAGE 3 Kota Gede traces its silvercraft back to early Mataram period Text and photos by Erie Noer Bawono YOGYAKARTA (JP): Maintained for generations as a traditional craft, the silverware of Kota Gede provides a living for many people in this small town know as "silver town." Located 14 kilometers southeast of Yogyakarta, the town used to be the center of the early Mataram kingdom. We still find some reminders of a glorious, such as old Javanese traditional buildings called juglo and the site of the old place. But silvercraft is the only remnant of the kingdom's grandeur which is still well preserved. The Mataram kingdom was later absorbed by the Yogyakarta kingdom with its palace in the city. Having its origins in the skills of the royal artisans who created jewellery, silvercraft has become a hereditary family business involving more than 75 families in Kota Gede. There is no basic change in production techniques, from the melting process to the finished product. It is all done manually, requiring neatness, care and patience, like a ritual. Beginning from the silver ore, the pure silver is mixed with a little copper to strengthen it and then melted in an earthenware bowl. They say Chinese ceramic bowls are best to melt the silver. The silver is heated on burning coal for 30 minutes until it becomes a liquid in the bowl. The liquid silver is then poured into molds to make various shapes and thicknesses, such as plates and wire, and is forged till flat and formed as desired. The result [[2 images]] These silver replicas of Indonesia's best known temples, Borobudur (foreground, above) and Prambanan are products of Kota Gede craftsmen. The 25 x 25 cm Borobudur is offered for US$484 and shop owners said that Taiwanese tourists like to buy the replicas for souvenir. At another shop (below) tourists are looking at various silver items both classical and modern. Text and Photos by Erie Noer Bawono is silver plates of lengths of wire which are ready to be formed. The next process is an art expression to make jewellery [[jewelry]] , such as rings, necklaces, brooches and earrings as well as bigger items, such as tea sets, traditional ships, temples, statues, spoons and others. It all needs neatness and creativity. For making a miniature Borobudur temple, the craftsmen use dozens of plates of silver and arrange them one by one to make the temple shape, and then complete it with ornaments and stupa (Buddhist temple dome). A silver brooch with ornamental leaves is formed from silver wire which is weaved into leaf shapes, then arranged together as desired. All works are arranged from cut, folded and wound plates and wire with superior skill. The finishing process is to solder, clean and polish the work with special traditional techniques. The final color can be white or black silver by using a dye. Side job A 68-year old silversmith, Atmo Pawiro, who has worked for a silver shop Mule Diharjo since 1950, told The Jakarta Post that he needed three days to finish carving a teapot, while other processes such as melting, molding and finishing are done by others with their own specialties. No one claims any rights to the work of art. Atmo first learned to work gold and silver in 1937 with Dayeng Kriyo, a former royal artisan. He said his teacher was a specialist craftsman of kris (traditional Javanese dagger) with gold sheath for the Sultan of Yogyakarta, and jewellry as souvenirs for the Sultan's foreign visitors. However, to most of the craftsmen their silver craft is only a sideline. "We are farmers first," Harto Utomo told the Post. He has worked for Tom's silver gallery since 1940, but he still works his land not far from town. Marketing The families producing silverware in Kota Gede continuously improve the promotion, marketing and design of their work to maintain the town's character as a central silver craft industry. Mohammad Yani, the owner of Yani's gallery which employs 30 craftsmen, told the Post that most of his designs were for export to Japan, with a turnover of about Rp 15 million a month. He also has business representatives in several department stores in Jakarta. He said that turnover at his gallery in Kota Gede itself was low. Yani's silver craft consumes one kilogram of silver every day, through the supply and credit facility from a state-owned company PT Aneka Tambang. He gets one-month credit for the supply, costing Rp 340,000 per kilogram. "We have had no trouble getting the silver so far as joined the Association of Silversmiths and Entrepreneurs," he said. He began his business in 1983, following in his father's footsteps. "I felt I should continue my family's tradition in silvercraft," he said. Various designs are offered in Kota Gede. From the traditional to the modern ones, such as tea sets, they cost from US$4,250 to $6,192, silver-plated miniature temples, $275 to $485, traditional miniature ships $99 to $1,345, and silver jewellry, $5 to $67 for a brooch, US$3 to $97 for a ring and $300 to $600 for a necklace. But there are many other interesting items at about 30 galleries around the town. Visitors "Foreign tourists from different countries usually have different tastes," said Wahyuni, an employee of the biggest silver gallery in town, Tom's Silver. Japanese tourists, for instance, like silver brooches, while the Taiwanese usually choose the miniature ships or temples. The gallery, said Wahyuni, sold many tea sets to the Dutch and other European tourists. Djazuli, an employee at the gallery, told the Post that more than 150,000 tourists visited the show room annually. During the main tourist season, at least 1,000 tourists visited the town everyday, mostly foreigners, he said. [[1 image]] Silver craftsmen in Kota Gede, 14 kilometers southeast of Yogyakarta, carve various items with their traditional skills passed from generation to generation. Most of the artisans are over 50 years old.
