Brunei Gallery/SOAS exhibit Regalia & Craft

Thursday, 21 February 2008 00:08

LONDON - The exhibition is a Brunei Government project managed by the Brunei Museum Department in partnership with SOAS to enhance Brunei - United Kingdom cultural cooperation. The exhibition consists of two parts and includes many items which have never been exhibited outside of Brunei before made possible by the generous permission of His Majesty, the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam.
 
The exhibition opens with a selection of Royal Regalia objects used during Royal and State ceremony since the introduction of the Malay Islamic Sultanate in the 14^th century. With these is a selection of objects drawn from His Majesty, the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam’s collection of Islamic art normally displayed at the Islamic Art Gallery, the Brunei Museum and includes Qur’ans and calligraphy, ceramics, metal work, bronze daggers and swords.
 
Displayed along side these are some more contemporary pieces of traditional Brunei craft in the form of several hand woven textiles known as kain tenunan or kain songket with various designs and motifs shown, one of the more important being the jong sarat which is used in Brunei Malay marriage ceremonies especially as a gift and in bridal dresses. There are also examples of basketry as another traditional Brunei handicraft preserved and maintained at the Malay Technology Museum in Brunei.
 
The second part “Secrets of the River” containing artifacts from the Sungai Limau Manis River archaeological site, a tributary of the Brunei River. The site was accidentally discovered in March 2002 during the government project of widening and deepening the river. The artifacts were found at the depth of 4 to 5 metres and dating from the l0th to 13th centuries A.D. Most of the artifacts that have been found were still intact, which include verities of Song Dynasty ceramics (celadons, white wares, ching-pai, iron glazed wares, brown wares, etc); Chinese coins; verities of coloured beads, wooden, iron, bronze, stone and golden objects; earthenware and stoneware.
 
The exhibition shows the importance of Brunei as a historical trading kingdom in Southeast Asia. The discovery has shown the existence of Brunei before its emergence as a powerful Islamic Kingdom in the 15th and 16th centuries A.D. In addition the exhibition is to show the richness of the artifacts that were recovered from the site. As far as Song Dynasty ceramics are concerned, it is very rare for these artifacts to be found outside China. It discovery in Brunei has caught many scholars by a surprise, including the Chinese. So the exhibition is a rare opportunity for the Chinese ceramic lovers and visitors alike to see the Song Dynasty ceramics that were found outside China.
 
On exhibition through 22 March, 2008.
 
The Brunei Gallery/SOAS - School of Oriental and African Studies - Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square
London - WC1H 0XG - Tel:+44 (0) 20 7898 4026 - www.soas.ac.uk/gallery