It is common that antique collectors have a soft spot for one genre of antique or the other. Some focuses more on antique knives; some others prefer old handmade fabrics. They are usually things that can be fitted inside a house though, or a wall, or a cupboard or two. In the case of the Tugu collection, it is not always an easy trait to find space for our antiques. Other than ‘normal’-sized rare items, our collection consists of massive things as well: giant statues (some that reach 8 meters tall and a couple of tons heavy. But more about that another time), houses, and even temples.
When he was a young and poor medical student traveling through Indonesia, Bapak Anhar, the antique collector and the founder of Tugu hotels & restaurants, witnessed how so many beautiful things and artwork were thrown away, replaced by modern, westernized things of convenience rather of heritage and beauty. That includes temples as well. His journeys led him to the discovery of these beautiful places of shrine that were found inside old homes. These temples, between 100-300 years old, stood still, completely abandoned and about to be demolished to make way for development of modern complexes, for one reason or the other. His mission was to save them first from demolition, not knowing where he would put them eventually. It wasn’t until years, decades after that he began to build the Tugu hotels and restaurants. Part of the purpose was to bring back to life, and to share with the world, the romantic times of Indonesia of the past. The other purpose, was to find new homes for these long lost temples, as he believes these silent witnesses of Peranakan history in the different islands of Indonesia, should continue to tell their stories.
