The extraordinary collection of Indonesian gold objects, mostly jewelry, formed by the late Professor Samuel Eilenberg and Jonathan P. Rosen was the largest, most comprehensive, and most important collection of Indonesian gold in private hands. Dating primarily to the classical Central Javanese period of the ninth and tenth centuries, this material constitutes not only a major chapter in the art history of Southeast Asia but ranks highly among the sumptuary arts of any world culture.

Included in the collection are superb examples of Javanese gold pectorals, jeweled clasps, rings, and ear pendants of all sorts, as well as vessels. A selection from the approximately five hundred pieces assembled by Eilenberg and Rosen has been on view since 1994. Added to what is already the finest collection of Javanese bronze sculpture in the Western hemisphere, primarily the gift of Samuel Eilenberg, the Museum's Indonesian holdings are now unrivaled outside of the National Museum, Jakarta.