Wooden statue of a legong dancer
1930-1940
Magnificently carved statue of a legong dancer who performs the bird-dance, hence the arm pieces.
The most remarkable feature of this statue is the condition. It survived the long journey from Bali to Holland without damaging the wing tips. How many of these bird dancer statues were damaged? A good guess is probably more than 80%
If one takes a good close look at the wings they are not only razor thin but also carved in an angle, which is very hard to execute without breaking the wood.
The balinese carvers were known to specialise in a genre piece, which they mastered to perfection.
I once owned a similar bird dancer statue which was undoudtedly done by the same master. However that piece was badly damaged.
Pls click on the photo for more info&photos.
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the golden deer struck by Rama's arrow, a scene from the Hindu epic Ramayana.
Pls click on the photo for more info&photos.
1930-1940
The most attractive feature is the elongulated body of the deer.
A way of practice in the woodcarving of the 1930s on Bali.
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Balinese high priest with container for holy water
1930-1940
Excellent carving from the Pita Maha period(1928-1945). There are beautiful details, like the open-carved container and much detail to the fingers and feet of the priest. The elegant art deco lines are clearly visible. Carved in the expensive satinwood, only used by the best carvers of the village. Finished with a beautiful dark brown patina. Pls click on the photo to get more info and photos.
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Sitting woman with mirror. Woodcarving from Bali, prewar
1930-1940
Impressive tall statue from the Pita Maha period(1928-1942). Striking elements are the beautiful deco lines that run downwards, and the vegetation-leave-motif on her head scarf. Copying is a normal and accepted thing in Bali, but for a copy you need the orginal. For all the ladies with mirror-carvings, this is probably the preferred original. Each photo can be enlarged two times by clicking on the image.
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Mother and child. Wooden sculpture made on Bali.
1920-1930
Exceptional long carving (very rare!). Carved in Art Deco, a style that just became known on Bali at that time. A similar carving was exhibited during the exhibition "ART DECO ON BALI" in the Nusantara Museum in Delft (Holland) in 2005. It was published in a book accompanying the exhibition "Art Deco Sculptures From Bali 1930-1970" written by Frans Leidelmeier (page 69). Pls click on each photo to see two larger images.
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Balinese woman with 3 birds. Wooden sculpture made on Bali in the thirties
1920-1930
Extremely long sculpture (very rare!) in a time that it became popular for balinese artists to create longer sculptures. Later a broader base was made to make the sculpture more stable. This statue must have been one of the first in his kind. Later it has been copied many times in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Pls click on each photo to see two larger images.
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Bird with prey
1930-1940
Bird sculpture with strong art deco features. The twisted neck is very difficult to execute.
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