Page 15 - Chinese and Asian Ceramics from an Indonesian Collection

artistic motifs, and local crafts of the Srivijaya period in
southeast Sumatra by studying these objects.
The ceramics from the Musi riverbed tell only part of
the story. Many metal objects, from coins to statues and
gold jewellery, as well as stone sculptures, were also found
between 2011 and 2015. After that time the supply of
artefacts from the Musi seems to have dried up, suggesting
that the riverbed has been more or less completely
stripped. Perhaps the example of this publication will
inspire other collectors with different types of artefacts
from the Musi River to make available information about
their collections. Even though the situation is less than
ideal, since no data on the provenance of these artefacts
are available, it is possible to study this collection to
derive tentative conclusions about the history of life
in the ancient port of Srivijaya on the Musi River, and
ultimately about the nature of the early development of
long-distance maritime trade in Asia. More systematic
archaeological research in Palembang and its vicinity in
the future may shed additional light on this collection,
and on life in ancient Srivijaya.
John Miksic
7 May 2019

xiv