Ullen Sentalu Museum, Reflection of the Kingdom Ladies' Beauty

Many people say that ladies' beauty encompasses two spaces, inner and outer. Quite often, ladies emphasize only one of them; usually it is the outer beauty. What about kingdom ladies, can they show both of them?
Ullen Sentalu museum gives evidence that in addition to beautiful face, some kingdom ladies are capable of showing thought and works as symbols of their inner beauty. The museum that is located at the south foot of Merapi mountain contains photographs and paintings by the ladies from Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Mangkunegaran and Pakualaman Kingdoms.
Located in one of the beautiful corners of Kaliurang area, namely Kaswargan park meaning the heaven park on land encircled by park and forest, this museum was inaugurated by Sri Paku Alam VIII in 1997. Ullen Sentalu as the name of the museum stands for "Ulating Blencong Sejatine Tataning Lumaku" that means the real torch of life for human way of life. The museum was built with "in the field architectural" concept, without blueprint.
Entering this museum, you will be welcomed by cool weather and shady trees. A guide will greet and accompany you to explore the museum that consists of two main parts all of which were built labyrinth concept with the mountain stone as the raw material; they are Guwo Selo Giri that means the cave with stonewall and Kampung Kambang that means a kampong that is situated on water (pond).
In Guwo Selo Giri, you will see some paintings by Kingdom ladies who has pronounced character and works and photos of the center of Yogyakarta city in the early 20s. One of the prominent ladies whose works are exhibited here is Partini Djayadiningrat, the daughter of Mangkunegaran VII who wrote the novel of Ande-Ande Lumut that was published by Balai Pustaka. In the novel, she used the name of Antipurbani. There is also a painting of Retno Puoso with her hand-fan that she designed herself in combination with the clothes.
Going to Kampung Kambang, you will find some rooms; the first is Balai Sekar Kedaton that is dedicated to GRAj. Koes Sapariyam who is addressed as Tineke. This room contains photographs and her poems that were written in 1939-1947. One of her poems told about the center of happiness that is when human beings are able to share love to the surroundings, even the sinful ones.
The next room is named Paes Ageng Yogyakarta, containing batik cloths for wedding. Some patterns area Sido Mukti, Sido Asih, Sido Drajat and other motifs with "Sido" as the first name that are worn by the couples in the hope for happy life. Truntum, Wirasat Truntum and Wirasat are the motifs worn by the parents of the married couple in order for giving guidance and advice.
Vorstendlanden Batik room or Batik Jogja Solo room that you will find next contains some batik collections as specialties of Yogyakarta and Solo. One of the legendary motifs is the star motif made by one of the consorts of Surakarta King. The motif was made because every night the consort saw falling stars while being alone because the King had been with the concubine. The motif of this batik was capable of returning the King's attention to the consort.
In the room of Batik Pesisiran or batik that developed in the coastal areas such as Cirebon and Indramayu, you will see some unique batik motifs and embroidered kebaya cloth. The batik motifs in this room are richer in colors but they are lack of philosophy; they are different from the batiks of Jogja-Solo of which colors tend to be monotonous but are rich of philosophy. Meanwhile, embroidered kebaya is unique because it was made by manual machine but the quality is incomparable.
Putri Dambaan room as the end of the exploration will give you description of Nurul Kusumawardani character, a lady of the Kingdom whose hobbies were horse riding, tennis and swimming. The lady who was proposed by the past President Soekarno and the late Hamengkubuwono IX was one of the prominent ladies in the Kingdom because she was good at dancing and refused polygamy. One of the photos features her dancing in Netherlands while accompanied by gamelan played in Surakarta Kingdom and was broadcasted live in a radio in Netherlands.
After walking around the museum, you will enjoy a cup of Kusmayana Drink, special beverage recipe by Lady Kusmayana that is believed to give you long life that is made from ginger, cinnamon, palm sugar, a little salt and pandanus leaf. You can enjoy it while entering the art shop that sells various souvenirs all of which with batik motif, from mask, clothes, t-shirt and wooden batik jewelries. You can also walk around the garden that is located in the museum complex.
The package of enjoying the museum is sold at IDR 10,000 for students, IDR 20,000 for public and IDR 36,000 for foreign tourists.

Ullen Sentalu Museum

Jl. Boyong Kaliurang, Sleman Yogyakarta

Phone: +62 274 895161, +62 274 880158

Fax: +62 274 881743

Visiting hours:

Tuesday to Sunday

Open : 09.00 a.m. to 15.30 p.m.

Monday: closed

Entrance Fee: Adult IDR 20,000

Foreigner IDR 36,000

Student IDR 10,000