Mar 06 2025 24 mins
This is the second of eight episodes in which Michael Backman tells the story of the Malay people - their history, their rulers, their culture & their traditions - through the beautiful items of gold and silver that were made for the Malay sultans and the Malay aristocrats.
This particular episode looks at how late 19th century and early 20th century collecting influenced what types of Malay silver and gold was made and preserved, and how collecting gave rise to a large number of fakes, forgeries and fantasies that are still represented in museums today as 'Malay'. The Minangkabau people of Sumatra are also examined - their material culture is over-represented today in museum collections at the expense of that of the Malays even though the Malays were much more commercially dynamic and influential. The reasons for this are examined.
More broadly, this series looks at how Malay silver and gold items were made, what types of items were produced, the motifs used, who commissioned the silver and gold is all discussed, plus the various controversies about what is, and what is not, Malay silver and gold - what was made to fool collectors and museum curators, and then which items actually are of Malay origin but which hitherto have been mis-catalogued. All is discussed over eight episodes.
The eight episodes are based on the book Malay Silver and Gold: Courtly Splendour from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei by Michael Backman and published by River Books - the first book to be published on the topic in more than 100 years, with 300 pages and almost 500 images of items most of which have never been published before.
Purchase 'Malay Silver and Gold'.
Visit Michael Backman Ltd's gallery website.