Wayang 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

Standing woman carrying a dangdang topped with a kukusan, 1930s or 1940s, 44 x 15 x 8 cm, private collection Carved in the wayang—or "Art Deco"—style, this figure dates from the 1930s or 1940s. Likely due to the prevailing tastes of buyers at the time, seated figures are more commonly found in the wayang style than standing ones. Among the latter, one must distinguish between classical poses and rarer, sometimes unique variants. This piece may well be such a rarity; I have y

Seated young man, pre-1954, bronze, 22.5 cm. Left: Dewi Uma giving birth to Batara Kala by I Made Polih . Right: Embracing couple by I Wayan Purne. Small bronze figures are occasionally found that strongly resemble certain Balinese wood carvings from the 1930s to the 1950s. The motifs are among those frequently encountered in modern Balinese sculpture: men or women at rest, Janger dancers, priests performing rituals, male or female busts... In many cases, however, these are n

Seated woman, 1930s or 1940s, 29.5 cm, private collection In the 1930s-1940s, as the wayang style flourished, sculptors increasingly produced representations of everyday life scenes to better satisfy the tastes of foreign visitors. Among sculptures of this type, seated female figures are undoubtedly the most sought-after by collectors today. On online sales platforms, some easily reach high prices, not to say unreasonable in certain cases. For period and style are not everyth

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

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

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