Everyday Life Scenes

Drum player (kendang), circa 1930–1960, 33 cm, private collection To acquire or not to acquire? This is the question the collector must regularly confront. But what decides him to answer yes or no? For example, this drummer he spotted on an online sales platform—should he adopt it? One might assume the matter is simple enough. A question of taste above all, framed by a few elementary practical considerations: is this drummer well-made? Does the collector truly like it? As it

Pregnant Woman, mid-20th century, 13 cm, private collection This small figure bears no inscription, but the fairly strong similarities it shows with another piece in my collection signed by I Wayan Gejir could justify an attribution to that carver. Like the sleeper discussed here , it is a variation on the motif of the sleeping figure created by Ida Bagus Njana in 1956. Beyond the plump appearance characteristic of this style of full, rounded forms, one finds the attitude of

Woman Combing Her Hair, 1930s or 1940s, 32.5 cm, private collection From the early twentieth century onward, Balinese carvers multiplied representations of scenes drawn from everyday life in order to cater to the tastes of foreign visitors. In modern Balinese sculpture, the everyday situations and attitudes depicted very often correspond to variations of a type within a theme: a seated woman or man, a woman kneeling in prayer, a priest kneeling before the table on which he pe

A Balinese couple: young woman by I Wayan Gog, 30 cm; young man by I Made Pait, 36,5 cm, 1930s–1940s, private collection Balinese busts have been among the most cherished souvenirs for visitors to the island since the 1930s. And it is undeniably in the first half of the 20th century that the finest pieces were produced—whether busts of women, men, young or old, or janger (or djanger) dancer busts with their wide headdresses decorated with floral motifs. Figures of young adult

A Sleeper, attributed to I Made Satriawan, 1960, Mas, 22 x 22 x 24 cm, private collection The subject is very simple: a young man with generous proportions is asleep. He is seated, his legs hidden beneath a sarong. His head is inclined on his shoulder. As is often the case in Balinese sculpture, this piece is unsigned. However, according to the Indonesian dealer from whom I acquired it, it was created by a sculptor named I Made Satriawan during the 1960s, in the village of Ma

Wayang-style drum player, first half of the 20th century, 27 cm, private collection Alongside dancers, and women or men seated in everyday postures, drummers are among the figures that were frequently reproduced in the 1930s and 1940s. It is easy to understand why. The basic structure common to all these musician figures is simple: the legs, crossed in a seated position, are merely suggested in the lower section through fairly schematic low relief, while the drum, cylindrical

Reclining Woman, first half of the 20th century, 25 x 12.8 cm, private collection Sleep is a recurring motif in modern Balinese sculpture. It is the central theme of reclining figures set against a flat background, as illustrated by this example. These figures often appear in pairs: a sleeping man and a sleeping woman, the latter sometimes accompanied by a child. They seem to have been popular between the 1930s and 1960s. They can be found in the wayang style as well as in a