Museum Kedaton Sultan Ternate

The Museum Kedaton Sultan Ternate (Palace of the Sultan of Ternate Museum) is a museum in the village of Soa-sio, North Ternate, Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia.^[1] It is a museum of relics from the era of the Sultanate of Ternate, and is based in the palace built in 1813 by Sultan Muhammad Ali, who ruled from 1807 to 1821.^[2][3]

The crown of the Sultanate of Ternate

History

Museum Kedaton Sultan of Ternate is a 1500 square meter building situated on 1.5 acres of land, commissioned on 24 November 1813 by Sultan Muhammad Ali. It was built by a Chinese architect as a palace for the Sultan. The palace was handed over to the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture in 1981 and was inaugurated as a museum in 1982, though it still functions as a residence for the Sultan.^[4] The palace itself, known as a kadaton or keraton has an area of 44,560m².^[5] Also in the palace complex are the Grand Mosque (Sigi Lamo), Meeting Room and Court (Ngara Lamo),^[6] and the pier or harbour (Dodoku Ali).^[5][7]

Collections

The museum contains a number of items illustrating the geology, history, technology and art of the region. The museum holds the ornate golden throne of the Sultanate of Ternate, alongside a number of precious gemstones and jewellery pieces.^[4]

Of particular interest is the crown of the Sultanate, which despite being over 500 years old, contains human hair which continues to grow. A special hair cutting ceremony is held for the crown every year on the festival of Eid-al-Adha.^[4][7][8]