"Sir Stamford Raffles (1781-1826) is principally remembered nowadays as the founder of Singapore. But he was also a remarkable scholar and collector who greatly admired the peoples of what would become Malaysia and Indonesia, and he was an enthusiastic researcher into all aspects of their civilization, languages and natural and cultural history." "The essays in this book investigate this lost Raffles, dealing not just with his contributions to the study of Javanese court arts but also with his less well known forays among the 'Hindu' Tengger Highlanders, the 'cannibal' Batak and the 'almost Western' Japanese. A unique reference for collectors, students, anthropologists and art historians interested in the art and crafts of Indonesia, the book is illustrated with a fascinating variety of objects, prints, paintings and documents drawn from several departments in the British Museum as well as other private and public collections including the Zoological Society of London, Royal Asiatic Society, National Portrait Gallery and British Library."--BOOK JACKET.