Elongated Style

Left: seated girl, 1930s or 1940s, height: 13.5 cm. Right: a rakshasa, probably first half of the 20th century, height: 15 cm, private collection In a first article, I reviewed a series of criteria that can help guide the selection of a modern Balinese sculpture: harmony of forms, the quality of their definition, the quality of the finish, complexity, period, subject category, and style. Here is the continuation of that reflection, with four additional criteria. Rarity of the

Legong dancer, 1930s or 1940s, 28 cm, private collection (detail) Collecting is a passion that involves making choices and compromises. When one sets out to collect modern Balinese sculpture, the question of what to choose is all the more difficult because the available pieces come from a context marked by several decades of remarkably abundant craft production. Among the vast quantity of objects now offered on the resale market, how does one distinguish those that deserve pa

Dewi Uma and Batara Kala, by I Made Polih, 1950s or 1960s, 55 cm, private collection This sculpture of fairly large dimensions (55 cm high) is signed by I Made Polih and was created between 1950 and 1974. The wood is probably panggal buaya (also known as crocodile wood). According to the information available to me, it long belonged to an American teacher who lived and worked in Bali. The sculpture is representative of I Made Polih’s talent, employing here the elongated styl

A major goddess Sarasvati is one of the three principal goddesses of the Tridevi (the supreme trinity in its feminine form), alongside Lakshmi and Parvati. She is associated with the creator god Brahma, either as his creation or as his consort. As the goddess of knowledge and the arts—particularly music—tradition credits her with the invention of Sanskrit. Her mount is a white goose or a swan. Certain representations influenced by Indian iconography depict her with four arms,

Female figure (Dewi Sri?) by I Wayan Wiri, between 1950 and 1976, 73 cm, private collection At 73 cm in height, this sculpture is the tallest in my collection. What does it represent? I have no certainty on this point, but it may depict the goddess Dewi Sri. Dressed in a long gown, the figure holds a fold of fabric against her breast with one hand. Resting on her left forearm is a fragrant pudak—the inflorescence of Pandanus amaryllifolius, a plant widely cultivated in Indone