Ancient Furnitures of Mangkunegaran Palace Surakarta (A Study on Style, Aesthetics, and Preservation of Javanese Culture)

Ancient furniture in the form of tables, chairs and cupboards that are more than 50 years old are well preserved as heritages in the Kadipaten Mangkunegaran, a palace in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. These furniture, in the context of science, have not been studied in terms of their style, aesthetics and preservation. The method of this research is qualitative using paradigm interpretation. The findings show that ancient furniture that functioned as seats, tables, and storage are made of teak wood with European-style, namely the Renaissance and Rococo styles because they originated in Europe. This raised a question when associated with the preservation of Javanese culture. After understanding that Javanese culture was formed by the "combination" of various cultures such as native Javanese, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Colonial (European) cultures, it is comprehensible why these furniture are parts of the Javanese culture repertoire that come from Europe. These ancient furniture have become parts of the history of some Javanese people which greatly influenced the development of Javanese culture, especially in Mangkunegaran Palace.