Borobudur in the Colonial Period

In the late 19th century, Isaac Groneman, President of the Yogyakarta Archaeological Society, took a deeper look into the religious context of Borobudur. He believed Borobudur was a sacred Buddhist site, but he needed strong support. Fortunately, at the time, King Chulalingkorn was on a trip to Java to explore the past, and Grooneman invited the king to Borobudur.

For Groneman, this marked the beginning of a journey to understand ancient Javanese heritage. For the Dutch East Indies colonial government, the distinguished visit held a different meaning. As a sign of political friendship, the Dutch colonial government presented eight cartloads of artifacts from Borobudur, including a statue of a guardian of the Borobudur area found near Dagi Hill. This statue is particularly significant because it indicates the location of a Buddhist monastery that once stood near the monument.

At that time, Borobudur became a fitting image for the king, and Borobudur a symbol of the glory of the Dutch Empire at the World Exhibition. As a trade forum, the World Exhibition was a colonial attraction until the 1930s. Archaeology was seen as a filler for the exhibition, along with ethnology, zoology, botany, and other disciplines. Tensions between professionalism and political interests in Java and other colonial areas in the early 20th century. At the same time, archaeologists began to view this heritage from various angles. Preservation was even more crucial: the restoration of Borobudur became a necessity and was carried out by Th. Van Erp over four years, from 1907 to 1911. His work and results, along with the support of the investigation, were recorded in 1920 in a two-part, six-volume book. This book became the basis for the study of Borobudur conservation. Importantly, it was instrumental in the submission of the second restoration of Borobudur by the Indonesian government. The country gained its independence in 1945, through armed effort and diplomacy, an achievement that gave national pride in the eyes of the world.