The country’s burgeoning art market is giving rise to a younger generation of collectors who are not only motivated by investment returns but also by a desire to express personal tastes.

In Indonesia, a prehistoric painting of a narrative scene has been found to date back at least 51,200 years ago. It is the oldest known example of “figurative” cave art in the world.

Ms. Komara, 67, speaks as an unabashed Indonesia booster, determined to raise the profile of the world’s most populous Muslim nation and the biggest archipelagic country on the planet.

A painting thought to be the earliest example of storytelling in art is seen in a cave on Indonesia's Sulawesi island. It seems to depict three humanlike figures and a pig.

Tacoma City Council member Jamika Scott spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on a trip to Indonesia, claiming it would “enhance our creative economy” and “raise Tacoma’s profile as an ...