This photograph shows Dr. Isaac Groneman (front) and Indonesian pioneer photographer at the site of the Hindu-Javanese Candi Prambanan (also known as Candi Lara Jonggrang). This Borobudur associated site was built in the 9th century and is situated approximately 20 kilometres from Yogyakarta. This photograph is part of the research portfolio complied by Dr. Groneman, a Dutch medical doctor who wrote many books about Javanese history and culture. He was also the Honorary President of the Archaelogical Society in Yogyakarta at the time when the society undertook the excavation of the Prambanan temples from 1889 to 1890. Dr. Groneman was assisted by pioneer Indonesian photographer Kassian Cephas, who was responsible for the pictorial documentation of the project. Cephas was also the court photographer to the Sultan at Yogyakarta. The portfolio details the temple and sculptured reliefs narrating the Hindu epic tale, the ‘Ramayana’, within the complexes of the Candi Prambanan.
