THE REPRESENTATION STUDY OF MUSEUM

KERETA KRATON YOGYAKARTA

Raden Mas Yoga Hendro Prakoso

194214103
(i) Background
A museum is a public, non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of
society that collects, conserves, researches, communicates, and exhibits the tangible
and intangible legacy of humanity and its environment for educational, scientific,
and recreational purposes. They were built for a variety of reasons, including to
serve as recreational facilities, academic venues, or educational services; to improve
the quality of life in the communities where they are located; to attract tourism to a
region; to promote civic pride or nationalistic endeavor; even to transmit overtly
ideological concepts. Given the wide range of objectives that museums serve,
museums exhibit extraordinary variation in form, content, and even function.
Despite their variances, they all have the same purpose in mind: to conserve and
interpret a physical part of society's cultural consciousness.

The official palace of the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate, which is

presently located in the City of Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta, is
Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. The Yogyakarta Palace is located in the heart
of Yogyakarta's Special Region, with a total size of 14,000 square meters. Many
buildings within the palace serve as dwellings for the Sultan and his family, as well
as the palace's courtiers. The north square is in the north, while the south square is
in the south, both of which are around 10 minutes from the Malioboro
neighborhood. Kraton is a complex of cultural activities and the residence of Sri
Sultan Hamengkubuwono and his family, not all are open to the public. The shape
of the building is influenced by models from Europe (Portuguese, Dutch) and
China. The architecture of the palace was designed by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono
I and the founder of the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate. The main building
and the basic spatial design of the palace and the basic landscape design of the old
city of Yogyakarta were completed between 1755-1756.

The object of this study is Museum Kereta Kraton Yogyakarta, which is a

unique museum that houses a collection of horse-drawn carriages from the Sultanate
Palace of Yogyakarta. The museum is situated in the vicinity of the Yogyakarta
Palace. To be precise, it is situated on Jl. Rotowijayan Yogyakarta, which is west
of the Yogyakarta Palace structure. The museum was founded during the reign of
Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono VI. These carriages used to be the sultans' vehicles
 for various functions and festivities held by the Yogyakarta Palace in ancient times.
The museum, which dates back to Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono VII's reign, houses
a collection of hundreds-year-old horse-drawn carriages, including Kyai
Jongwiyat's and Kyai Puspoko Manik's carriages. A Mondro Juwolo vehicle, a
horse carriage originally used by Prince Diponegoro, is also on display. Some of
the museum's carriages are still utilized for palace occasions today, such as the
Sultan's coronation, his son's wedding, or the transfer of the Sultan's body to his
final resting place. Because of their age and history, some of the historic carriages
in the collection are no longer in use. Three types of palace carriages are stored
here. First, an open-top and two-wheeled carriage. Second, an open-top and four-
wheeled carriage. The last one is a covered, four-wheeled roof carriage.

(ii) Discussion
Based on the research, The Museum Kereta Kraton Yogyakarta represents the
Javanese nobility’s life. It represents the Javanese nobility life through the
collections of horse-drawn carriages from the Sultanese Palace of Yogyakarta. In
the museum, visitors can see and learn about the means that the Javanese nobility
used to travel with. Every horse-drawn carriage inside the museum has its own uses
and story to tell.

The oldest palace carriage is the Kanjeng Nyai Jimad, which dates back to Sri
Sultan Hamengku Buwono I's reign. Sultan Hamengku Buwono I used this carriage,
which was a gift from VOC Governor General Jacob Mossel, to transport Sultan
Hamengku Buwono III to the coronation ceremony. The Kanjeng Nyai Jimat
carriage has the same design and appearance as the European carriage. This type of
Renaissance-style carriage was only used by nobility or kings in Europe. This
carriage was used by Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono I until the reign of Sri Sultan
Hamengku Buwono III. After being retired as the Sultan's golden carriage, Nyai
Jimat's kanjeng carriage was kept in the palace as the Yogyakarta Sultanate's
heirloom carriage.

After the reign of Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono III was over, the next Sultan
uses a different carriage. The sultan travels in Kyai Manik Retno's carriage, which
is an open-air carriage. During the reign of Hamengku Buwana IV, the carriage was
 constructed in the Netherlands. The sultan took control of the horse-drawn carriage
by himself during the journey. On this carriage, there are two seats: one for the
passenger and the carriage’s controller, and one for the passenger.

After the Kyai Manik Retno carriage, the Kangjeng Kyai Garudayaka carriage
was the next Sultan’s means of travel. It was built in the Netherlands by the
Hermansen Co. carriage factory in 1867 and has been used as the coronation
ceremony carriage throughout Sultan Hamengku Buwana VI's reign until now. The
Sultan only uses this carriage for carnival or to go to the governor's palace to
commemorate the Queen of the Netherlands' birthday or to receive dignitaries.
Kanjeng Kiai Garudayaksa's carriage was pulled by an army of eight horses. This
carriage is adorned with a variety of embellishments, including European-style
crown shapes, statues of mythical animals, and flora. This carriage has four lights
in addition to a seating area for passengers.

(iii) Conclusion
Museum Kereta Kraton Yogyakarta has become the representation of the
Javanese Nobility life. From the long history of the first Sultan and its successors,
the interaction between VOC with Javanese nobility, and all the rich heritage of the
past has been presented in the form of a museum. Through the representation
approach, we can see that Museum Kereta Kraton Yogyakarta has successfully
represented the history of Javanese nobility life through its carriages.

(iv) References

Dinas Kebudayaan Kota Yogyakarta. (2021, August 5). Retrieved June 17, 2022, from
https://kebudayaan.jogjakota.go.id/page/index/kawasan-kraton

Museum Kareta Karaton NGAYOGYAKARTA: Dinas Perpustakaan Dan Arsip Daerah D.I
Yogyakarta. DPAD Yogyakarta. (2013, December 28). Retrieved June 17, 2022, from
http://dpad.jogjaprov.go.id/article/library/vieww/museum-kareta-karaton-
ngayogyakarta-525
Lestari, E. D. (2021, June 9). Menengok Sejarah Kereta Kuda Di Museum Kereta Keraton
Yogyakarta. Indonesia Kaya. Retrieved June 17, 2022, from
https://indonesiakaya.com/pustaka-indonesia/menengok-sejarah-kereta-kuda-di-
museum-kereta-keraton-yogyakarta/

Citraweb Digital Multisolusi. (n.d.). Museum Kereta Kraton Yogyakarta. Gudegnet.

Retrieved June 17, 2022, from https://www.gudeg.net/direktori/5482/museum-kereta-
kraton-yogyakarta.html

ferdiyanto, ferry. (2016, July 22). Kereta Kerajaan. Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya Provinsi
Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. Retrieved June 17, 2022, from
http://kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id/bpcbyogyakarta/kereta-kerajaan/