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TOBO-00646 |
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Woodcarving of a Singha with wings |
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1900-1930 |
Beautifully carved singha with wings. Made probably in the early 1920s. The hole at the back was made for a vertical pilar to fit that supports a roof of a building or bale bale. A bale bale is a community building inside a Balinese village where ceremonies take place, like weddings, toothfiling, offerings etc. Looking at the high quality of carving this Singha might have been part of a temple or a building belonging to a high cast person. These persons, like rulers of a district or priests, had access to the best crafts men in the village. The last photo shows a drawing by Dutch traveller/artist WOJ Nieuwenkamp, who was in Bali during the 1920s. The picture shows a similar Singha as part of a rice-barn. In the middle is Dewi Sri, the goddess of the rice. This rice barn was important for the Balinese, because there the food was preserved. The deer on this carving is a symbol of prosperity and a guardian of the roof. Pls click on each photo to see two larger images
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