Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Those interested in the country's architectural heritage might already have insufficient space for their coffee-table books and pictorial illustrations of the fine old buildings scattered across the city.
But perhaps it is time to clear a shelf for a new kind of collectible as ceramicist F. Widayanto takes the elegance and character of some of the city's historical buildings into the homes of Jakartans.
More than a dozen 10-centimeter-tall miniatures of the old Chinese crematorium, the State Palace and several museums in Old Town Jakarta are now available for purchase.
""The series was made in cooperation with architect Budi Lim, who campaigned for heritage preservation last year,"" Widayanto said on the sidelines of the launching of a book on Dutch architect FJL Ghijsels last week.
Widayanto, famous for his figurines of Javanese couple Loro Blonyo and Ganesha Ganeshi ceramics, worked from photographs to make his brown-glazed limited-edition miniatures.
At first glance, they could be taken for house-shaped piggy banks, but a closer look reveals the reproduction of the works depends on perfection of detail.
Some of the works are also humorous.
A couple of monkeys perch on the roof of the State Palace, while a cat poses on the roof of an old Chinese shop-house.
""My initial intention in making them was to participate in the Old Town Revitalization effort. But, somehow along the way, the campaign seems to have been disrupted,"" Widayanto said.
He added that the series might be mass produced at a later date, ""but that depends on the initial public response.""
A number of the miniatures are available at the Ghijsels exhibition at the National Archives Building on Jl. Gajah Mada in West Jakarta.
Some can be obtained at Widayanto's gallery, with prices starting from Rp 125,000 (US$14).
F. Widayanto ""clay statements""
Main showroom: Jl. Setiabudi 2/11, South Jakarta
021-5253891, 5262309
