Provenance and history of the collection of Indonesian skulls of the Schloss Friedenstein Gotha Foundation

The Schloss Friedenstein Gotha Foundation is a cultural institution of national importance which, in conjunction with other institutions in Gotha, forms a unique building, garden and collection ensemble of European residential culture. The baroque art chamber was the nucleus of the unique collections from art, nature, and cultural history. The holdings include antiquities, coins, handicrafts, painting, a copper engraving cabinet, and non-European collections. In the Perthes Forum, a central storage building of the foundation is available for the storage of the diverse collection holdings. The foundation owns over 1 million objects, spread over 80 historically grown groups of holdings. 

The subject of the project was a collection of originally ca. 40 skulls that arrived in the ducal collections in Gotha in the 2nd half of the 19th century through various donators from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). 33 of these skulls are currently present. The aim was to conduct research into the provenance and history of this collection, in cooperation with partners from areas of origin. The geographic focus is South and Central Kalimantan (Borneo), where a substantial part of the collection originates. The aim was to reconstruct the provenance of all skulls in the collection as completely as possible through micro-historical research with an actor-centered focus, systematic digital recording of the human remains, identification of the actors involved and their historical interconnections. The research resulted in differentiated recommendations that enabled the Schloss Friedenstein Foundation Gotha as well as various actors in the societies of origin to make informed decisions about the further handling of the individual skulls in the collection. The information was made available in standardized digital formats in German, English and Indonesian. 
Based on the human remains with their different meanings and functions for different actors, epochs, and contexts, exemplary insights into international and intercultural cooperation were hoped for, and a piece of common colonial history between the specific local contexts “Gotha”, “Banjarmasin” and “Batavia” was reappraised. The aim was to raise awareness of the topic among both specialists in the field and the interested general public. 

All 33 skulls found so far were examined osteo-anthropologically for parameters such as age at death, sex, possible origin, trauma, and diseases. As planned, historical research in the first year focused on skulls originating from Kalimantan (Borneo). The histories of six skulls were reconstructed in detail, and general knowledge was gained about the origins the others. The biographies of seven donators and their networks were researched in detail, often in close exchange with individuals and institutions in Europe dealing with similar cases. Cooperation with Indonesian partners, on the other hand, could not be realized in the planned extent due to the Corona pandemic. A variety of transparency measures accompanied the project.

© Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha.