Ancient Indonesian Art Of The Central And Eastern Javanese Periods

Ancient Indonesian Silver is the second publication of the Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art in Amsterdam. It examines Indonesian silver, sculptures, objects and two pieces of jewellery, affording fresh insight into the history of silver made by Javanese silversmiths. While ancient Indonesian gold has received considerable attention from art historians, to date there have been no specialised publications on the subject of ancient Indonesian silver. Most of the thirty selected items in this catalogue are published for the first time. They provide an introduction to the fascinating silversmith art of Central - and East Java from circa 750 to 1550. some objects exhibit the foreign influences that helped shaped Javanese art, as illustrated by early photographs. This begins with the impact of Hinduism from India and somewhat later that of Buddhism. The illustrations in this publication include photographs of the works of art as well as old photographs and details of archaeological sites throughout Java. In this way, art lovers are able to better understand Indonesian culture as well as the virtuosity of Javanese silversmiths.

Ancient Indonesian Gold' is the first publication of the Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art in Amsterdam. It examines Indonesian gold, sculptures, objects and jewellery, affording fresh insights into the history, techniques and use of the special types of jewellery made by Javanese goldsmiths. The objects have been studied closely and their descriptions sometimes differ from that in earlier publications. This was done in an attempt to give the reader new information about ancient Javanese gold. Most of the 115 selected items are published here for the first time and provide a good introduction to the fascinating goldsmith art of Central- and East Java from circa 750 to 1550. Several objects exhibit the foreign influences that helped shape Javanese art, as illustrated by early photographs. This begins with the impact of Hinduism from India, somewhat later that of Buddhism, and subsequently of Islamic culture. The illustrations in this publication include high-quality photographs of the works of art as well as old photographs and details of archaeological sites throughout Java. In this way, art lovers are able to better understand Indonesian culture as well as the virtuosity of Javanese goldsmiths. Indonesia's rise to greatness was due to its ability to time and again absorb new elements from foreign cultures and incorporate them into its own intrinsic civilisation.

Ancient Indonesian sculpture, as yet a relatively unexplored area of research, is discussed in this volume from various angles. The nine contributions originate from an international symposium at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Robert L. Brown formulates a set of rules that account for the way Indian art was transformed when adopted in Southeast Asian regions. Sara Schastok shows how the dating of Amaravātī style bronzes was influenced by colonial thinking. In comparing the northeast Indian and Javanese bronzes figurines, Susan L. Huntington concludes that although Javanese bronzes owe something to northeast Indian ones, each group has its own distinctive characteristics. Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer’s contribution stresses the Javanese aspects of Javanese bronzes. Nandana Chutiwongs focuses on images of Avalokiteśvara in this manifestation as Great Compassionate Lord. A fragment of a bronze-ringed rattle leads A. de Vries Robbé to trace the development of this attribute of mendicant Buddhist monks from India, over mainland Southeast Asia, to Central and East Java. Moving to the great Buddhist monument in Central Java, the Borobudur, its structure and meaning are given a completely new interpretation by John C. Huntington. A northeast Indian iconographic model is proposed by J.A. Schoterman for the famous images of Amoghapāśa Lokeśvara and his retinue in the East Javanese temple Candi Jago. Finally, Marijke J. Klokke offers a new interpretation of the iconography of the East Javanese ‘portrait statues’.

This source publication provides the right understanding of the chandi. The re-examination of archaeological data and the rereading of textual data have revealed fascinating new information.

This book covers the relationship between societies and their culture in the context of traditional settlement in Indonesia. The focus of the study is on the search for meanings of local concepts. This study reveals and analyzes the concepts concerning home and their sociocultural strategies for maintaining a sense of community and identity. In this study, identifying local concepts becomes the hallmark and the hub of analyses that explore, verify and establish relations between ideas and phenomena. Based on these relations, this study attempts to capture the reality of the local world that upholds and sustains the communities’ values, norms and principles for what they may call a homeland. The book is organized into two parts. Part I describes a cross-regional habitation in Indonesia, while Part II presents four ethnic regions of Indonesia - Sa’dan Toraja, Bali, Naga and Minangkabau. Their unique traditions, customs, beliefs and attitudes serve to provide diversity in terms of their backgrounds and lifestyles, though they share the challenge of sustaining their sense of home in the face of modernity as characterized by changes and developments toward a technologically industrialized society. The central research questions are - What is development in terms of culture and environmental sustainability? How do these communities respond to modernity?