Ahmad Nuralam, head of the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Museum, said the upcoming publication will focus in particular on textiles from Lombok and Bali. He described it as the first international literary work dedicated to the woven fabrics of the two islands, especially Lombok textiles from Abbott’s private collection.

“It will be the first international publication to specifically discuss Lombok and Balinese woven fabrics, particularly Lombok textiles collected by Michael Abbott,” Ahmad said on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, in Mataram, as quoted by Antara.

Earlier on Wednesday, the NTB Museum facilitated a meeting between Abbott and Indonesian Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon, at the Ministry’s office in Jakarta to support efforts to promote local textiles on the international stage.

What was initially scheduled as a 30-minute meeting stretched to nearly two hours, as Minister Fadli invited the delegation to tour his personal collection, which is artistically displayed at the ministry.

Abbott is writing the book in collaboration with several authors from NTB and Bali. The project aims to strengthen Lombok’s standing as one of Indonesia’s centers of traditional textile heritage in the eyes of the world.

During the meeting, the NTB Museum also briefed the minister on the progress of its village museum program and presented him with a book on the Sasak community’s farming traditions, along with a manuscript of Markum.

Abbott, widely known as a collector of Indonesian traditional textiles and the author of several books on Asian fabrics, hopes that Minister Fadli will contribute a foreword to the new publication on Lombok and Balinese weaving.

West Nusa Tenggara Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal is also scheduled to provide a written remark and plans to attend the book launch and discussion session in Australia.

Minister Fadli welcomed the initiative and confirmed his willingness to contribute to the book. “This book will serve as important international literature for advancing our culture, especially for the people of Lombok,” he said. ***