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the journal of the asian arts society

of australia

TAASA Review

SOUTHEAST ASIAN ANCESTRAL ART

3 Editorial: SOUthEaSt aSiaN aNcEStraL art

JosefaGreen

4 lifE,dEathandMagic:2000YEarsofsouthEastasianancEstralart

RobynMaxwell

7 BEadworkof islandsouthEastasia

Hwei-F’enCheah

9 ancEstors inthEarchitEcturE: indigEnousartfroMtaiwan

LucieFolan

11 splEndourforthEancEstors–thEsculpturEandgoldofnias

NikivandenHeuvel

13 sMallandpotEnt–fishingcharMsandthEMElanauofBornEo

CharlotteGalloway

14 portraitsfroMindia1850s–1950s

AnneO’Hehir

17 inthEpuBlicdoMain:a NEw DiSpLay at thE NatiONaL MUSEUM Of caMbODia

OunPhallineandMartinPolkinghorne

18 culturalEncountErs:thErEvErsEgazEofkutchpainting

JimMasselos

21 BookrEviEw:EthNic JEwELLEry aND aDOrNMENt

JanetMansfield

22 BatikofJava:poEticsandpolitics.caloundrarEgionalartgallErYtouringExhiBition

MariaWronska-Friend

24 collEctor’schoicE:a pair Of KENyah bELawiNg pOLES frOM bOrNEO

MichaelHeppell

26 travEllEr’stalE:a SEacS StUDy tOUr Of hiStOric K iLN S itES iN fUJ iaN aND J iNgDEzhEN

LindaMcLaren

29 rEcEnttaasaactivitiEs

29 taasaMEMBErs’diarY

30 what’son: JUNE - aUgUSt 2010

CompiledbyTinaBurge

c o n t E n t s

Volume 19 No. 2 June 2010

taasarEviEw

THEASIANARTSSOCIETYOFAUSTRALIAINC.ABN64093697537•Vol.19No.2,June2010ISSN1037.6674registered by australia post. publication No. NbQ 4134

Editorial•email:[email protected]

Generaleditor,JosefaGreenpuBlicationscoMMittEE

JosefaGreen(convenor)•TinaBurgeMelanieEastburn•SandraForbes•AnnMacArthurJimMasselos•AnnProctor•SusanScollaySabrinaSnow•ChristinaSumner

dEsign/laYout

IngoVoss,VossDesign

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published by the asian arts Society of australia inc. pO box 996 potts point NSw 2011 www.taasa.org.au

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2

afull indExofarticlEspuBlishEd inTAASA Review sincE itsBEginnings

in1991 isavailaBlEonthEtaasawEBsitE,www.taasa.org.au

nagéancEstralhorsEwithtworidErs[JarahEda], iNDONESia, 19th cENtUry Or EarLiEr,

wOOD, 120.0 x 320.0 x 50.0 cM, NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia, caNbErra

E d i t o r i a l : S O U t h E a S t a S i a N a N c E S t r a L a r t

Josefa Green, Editor JudithruthErford•prESiDENtCollectorandspecialistinChinesetextiles

gillgrEEn•VicE prESiDENtArthistorianspecialisinginCambodianculture

annguild•trEaSUrErFormerDirectoroftheEmbroidersGuild(UK)

katEJohnston•SEcrEtaryIntellectualpropertylawyerwithaninterestinAsiantextiles

hwEi-fE’nchEahLecturer,ArtHistory,AustralianNationalUniversity,withaninterestinneedlework

JocElYnchEYVisitingProfessor,DepartmentofChineseStudies,UniversityofSydney;formerdiplomat

MattcoxStudyRoomCo-ordinator,ArtGalleryofNewSouthWales,withaparticularinterestinIslamicArtofSoutheastAsia

philipcourtEnaYFormerProfessorandRectoroftheCairnsCampus,JamesCookUniversity,withaspecialinterestinSoutheastAsianceramics

sandraforBEsEditorialconsultantwithlong-standinginterestinSouthandSoutheastAsianart

JosEfagrEEnGeneraleditorofTAASA Review.CollectorofChineseceramics,withlong-standinginterestinEastAsianartasstudentandtraveller

gEraldinEhardManCollectorofChinesefurnitureandBurmeselacquerware

Min-JungkiMCuratorofAsianArts&DesignatthePowerhouseMuseum

annproctorArthistorianwithaparticularinterestinVietnam

annroBErtsArtconsultantspecialisinginChineseceramicsandworksofart

saBrinasnowHasalongassociationwiththeArtGalleryofNewSouthWalesandaparticularinterestintheartsofChina

christinasuMnErPrincipalCurator,DesignandSociety,PowerhouseMuseum,Sydney

hon.auditorRosenfeldKantandCo

s t a t E r E p r E s E n t a t i v E s

AUSTRALIANCAPITALTERRITORY

roBYnMaxwEllVisitingFellowinArtHistory,ANU;SeniorCuratorofAsianArt,NationalGalleryofAustralia

NORTHERNTERRITORY

JoannaBarrkManCuratorofSoutheastAsianArtandMaterialCulture,MuseumandArtGalleryoftheNorthernTerritory

QUEENSLAND

suhanYaraffElHeadofAsianandPacificArt,QueenslandArtGallery

SOUTHAUSTRALIA

JaMEsBEnnEttCuratorofAsianArt,ArtGalleryofSouthAustralia

VICTORIA

carolcainsCuratorAsianArt,NationalGalleryofVictoriaInternational

TASMANIA

katEBrittlEBankLecturerinAsianHistory,SchoolofHistoryandClassics,UniversityofTasmania

This issue celebrates the much awaitedexhibitionattheNationalGalleryofAustralia(NGA), opening in August. Articles in thisissuearedevoted toexploring facetsofLife, death and magic: 2000 Years of Southeast Asian ancestral art.

Robyn Maxwell, Senior Curator of AsianArt at the NGA, presents highlights of theexhibition, which encompasses animistsculpture,textilesandgold.TheNGA’scorecollection will be joined by contributionsfrom major European collections: theTropenmuseum inAmsterdam, the Barbier-MuellerMuseum in Geneva and the DutchNational Museum of Ethnology in Leiden,aswellascontributionsfromUS,Indonesianandlocalcollections.

CommonthemesbindanimistbasedancestralartacrossSoutheastAsia.Itservesareligiousfunction,communicatingwithandharnessingthepowerof the spiritualworld tomaintainorder, achieve prosperity and bolster thepowerofelites.Asharedbeliefinthepowerfulinterventionist spirit of nature and the deadprovides much of the impetus for and thepowerofthisarttradition,whetherexpressedinthedecorationsfoundonutilitarianobjectsorusedinceremonyandritual.

The ceremonial function of beadwork, aless well-known aspect of Southeast Asia’srich textile traditions, is explored by Hwei-Fe’n Cheah, Lecturer in Art History at theANU.Beadworkwasexecutedbymenandisassociated with the male sphere. Combinedonclothandclothing-“soft”textilesmadebywomen-beadworksymbolicallyconnectedthemale and female spheres and held protectivepowersassociatedwithfertilityandwealth.

LucieFolan,CuratorofAsianArtattheNGA,discussesancestorimagerycreatedbytwomajorindigenousTaiwanesegroups,thePaiwanandYami.Thesearefoundonimpressivelycarvedhousepostsandpanels,ceremonialstaffsandcanoes and serve to honour ancestors andpacify hostile spiritual forces. The exhibitionwilldisplaythelargestandmostrepresentativecollection of indigenous Taiwanese art evershowninAustralia.

Also on display will be splendid works ingoldsuchasasetofChieftain’sgoldjewelleryfromtheislandofNias,loanedfromtheAsianCivilisations Museum, Singapore. Niki vanden Heuvel, Exhibition Assistant, discussesthe significance of art and regalia of thissmall island, acclaimed as among the mostspectacularexamplesofIndonesiananimistart.

The exhibition provides an opportunity toexplore fastdisappearing traditions, suchas

theuseoffishingcharmscarvedinwoodorivory by the Malanau of Borneo. CharlotteGalloway, Lecturer in Art History at theANU, points out that amulets, fetishes andcharms were widely used in Borneo forpersonal protection but are now quite rareastheyweregenerallydisposedofwiththeirdeceasedowners.

OtherarticlescontinuetheSoutheastAsianarttheme.ReaderswillbeinterestedtoknowthattheWest Mebon Vishnu, the Khmer bronzefigure covered in our September 2006 issue,has been newly installed in a spectacularsettingattheNationalMuseumofCambodia.We hear the details from the Director ofthe Museum, Oun Phalline, and MartinPolkinghorne,whospecialisesinKhmerart.

An exhibition with a batik theme at theCaloundraRegionalArtGalleryinQueensland,curated anddiscussed in this issue byMariaWronska-Friend, will juxtapose a significantprivate collection of Javanese batik textileswith an exhibition of works from DadangChristanto,whichusebatiktoevokememoriesof a traumatic past. Janet Mansfield offersarmchairpleasurewithher book reviewof asplendidly illustrated publication on “EthnicJewelleryandAdornment”byTruusDalder.

Finally, Michael Heppell entertains us withhisaccountof transporting two6metre longbelawing poles from Kalimantan Timur,IndonesiatoasuburbanMelbournebackyard.

On another theme, Anne O’Hehir, NGAAssistantCuratorofPhotography,discussesanewdisplayofphotographsfromIndiaattheNGA,drawn from its extensiveAsia-Pacificcollection. She explores the way in whichIndianpainting traditions and the importedmodernmediumofphotographyintersectedin the 19th century. The display coincideswithamajorinternationalconference“FacingAsia”onAsianstudiophotographytobeheldon 21-22 August. Details of this conferencecanbefoundonp28.

Jim Masselos’ article on Kutch paintingfrom the later 1700s explores similar issues,this time the way these little known NWIndian paintings absorbed aspects of theWesternvue perspectifs print tradition into adistinctiveIndianframework:intheprocess,occidentalisingEurope.

Finally, tosatisfyceramicenthusiasts,LindaMcLarengivesusalivelyaccountofaSEACSstudytourofhistorickilnsitesandmuseumsinChina’sFujianandJiangxiprovinces.Thislinksusbacktoourmaintheme,assomanyof the ceramicwares from these areasweredestinedforexporttoSoutheastAsia.

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t a a s a c o M M i t t E E

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major exhibition Life, death and magic: 2000 years of Southeast Asian ancestral art,

opens at the National Gallery of Australia(NGA)inCanberrainAugust2010.Itsfocusis the art of small communities throughouttheregionwhomaintainedtheanimistbeliefsoftheirancestorswhenmostlargekingdomsandtradingsocietiesadoptedHinduismandBuddhism,andlater, IslamandChristianity.While Australian audiences can find fineexamples of Southeast Asian Buddhist andHindu art in public collections, and havehad theunique opportunity to visitCrescent Moon: Islamic art and civilization in Southeast Asia inAdelaideandCanberrain2005–2006,thereareveryfewsuperbexamplesofanimist

sculpture, textiles and gold in Australia.Whileprobablyunlikelytoattractthecrowdsand queues of the Masterpieces from Parisshow, Life, death and magic offers Australianaudiencesauniqueopportunitytoappreciatethe excitement and often strange beautyof objects created to venerate the spirits ofnatureandancestraldeities.

In a conscious attempt to broaden its scopeandintroducevisitorstothisimportantaspectoftheartofSoutheastAsia,theNGAhasbuiltasmallbutformidablecollectionofancestralsculpture in recent years to complement theinstitution’sexceptionalholdingsofSoutheastAsian textiles. The Gallery’s imposing

examples of stone sculpture from Nias willbe joined in the exhibition by fine examplesof the somewhat better-known woodenfigures of ancestors, regarded by some asthe pinnacle of Indonesian sculpture. ThesehavebeengenerouslylentbymajorEuropeancollections of tribal and ethnographic art:the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam and theBarbier-MuellerMuseuminGeneva.

TheNGAhasalsoacquiredasmallgroupoffine wooden sculptures from central Luzonin the northern Philippines. Ranging froma highly stylised king post for an ancestralhousetoarealisticdepictionofanIfugaobulolrice guardian couple with child, the figures

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l i f E , d E a t h a n d M a g i c : 2 0 0 0 Y E a r s o f s o u t h E a s t a s i a n a n c E s t r a l a r t

Robyn Maxwell

ta a S a r E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 2

toraJagranarYfaçadE, iNDONESia, 19th cENtUry, wOOD, pigMENtS, 211.0 x 198.0 x 10.0 cM, fOwLEr MUSEUM Of cULtUraL hiStOry, UcLa, LOS aNgELES

5ta a S a r E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 2

demonstrate the power of art created toensure fertility and prosperity in vulnerableagricultural and environmental conditions,arecurringfocusforanimistrites.Astrikingseated figure holding a large container foranIfugaoshaman’smagicherbsandcharmsfromtheFowlerMuseumofCulturalHistory(University of California, Los Angeles) isa powerful example of objects created tocontrolthespiritworld.

AlsoonloanfromtheFowlerMuseumisthefaçade of a Toraja granary from Sulawesi,Indonesia, its surface completely filledwithincised and painted patterns. It joins theNGA’s carved buffalo-head door for a ricebarn.ThroughoutSoutheastAsia,oneof themostprominentemblemsofagriculturalandhumanfertility,prosperityandwealth,isthewaterbuffalo that alsoappears in schematicandrecognizabledesignsonthericegranarydecorations.

A number of the Gallery’s Southeast Asiantextiles will be on display for the first timein this exhibition. Representing the oldestregional forms and styles,made frombeatenbarkclothandarangeofvegetablefibres,theyalso display motifs associated with fertilityand prosperity. As in architecture, buffaloesare prominent on Toraja textiles, along withthedoti’ langi stars of heaven patternswhichrepresentplenty.ArchaicTorajabannersshowvillage scenes of rice granaries and buffaloeswithplough,whilestylisedhornsarepaintedonsuperfinebarkheadcloths.Soimportantisthe symbol inTorajaart thata repository forthe aristocratic corpse at a funeral ceremonycanalsotaketheformofamightybuffalo.Arichlydecorated two-metre long coffin in theform of this prestigious animal comes fromthecollectionofMuséeduQuaiBranly,Paris.

The greatest rites for animist Southeast Asiaare funerals, when the spirits of the deceased

are ushered into the afterworld with lavishceremonyandexpense.Someofthefinestartiscreated for these events, including spectacularcoffins andmortuary jars.Archaeological findsfromBronzeandIronAgesitesacrosstheregionreveal the antiquity of elaborate burials andextravagant grave goods. This is marvellouslydemonstrated by the loans of a number ofDianCulture (500BCE–300CE)bronzes fromthe Yunnan Provincial Museum, China. Theantiquityofarchitecturalformsisdemonstratedby the largest and smallest of the bronzes –a massive house-shaped bronze sarcophaguscovered with animal motifs and geometricpatterns and a three-dimensional model ofvillagedwellingsfromthelidofacontainerusedtostorevaluedcowryshellcurrency.

The Dian architectural forms have greatresonance with ancestral dwellings acrossSoutheast Asia into the modern era. Likethe ancient rulers of Dian, the remains ofnoblesinmanyremotepartsoftheregionarestillplacedinhouse-andboat-shapedcoffins,just as theyhave been formillennia.A 19thcentury Toraja wooden coffin on loan fromtheArtGalleryofSouthAustraliamirrorsnotonlytheshapeandornamentationofthelocalarchitecture,butisremarkablysimilartothe2000yearoldYunnansarcophagus.

Perhaps the most fascinating Dian bronzevessel,andonethatspeaksoftheantiquityofmanyartsandtechniques inSoutheastAsia,isthecowrycontainerwithascenedepictingweavingonback-tensionlooms.Remarkably,all thewoven textiles in the exhibitionwerecreated on similar simple apparatus, fromthe tiny Li skirts from Hainan to the huge

standingdog, iNDONESia,4th–6th cENtUry

brONzE, 43.2 x 15.9 x 37.5 cM, gift Of thE chriStENSEN fUND,

2001, hONOLULU acaDEMy Of artS, hawaii

toraJacErEMonialhangingandshroud[paporitonoling], iNDONESia, 19th cENtUry, cOttON;

warp iKat, 181.0 x 137.0 cM, NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia, caNbErra

6 ta a S a r E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 2

shroudfromLuzon.TheGallery’sownBronze weaver, a keywork in the show, and indeedinSoutheastAsianarthistory,depicts in fargreaterdetailthesamefoot-bracedloom.

Like the Bronze Weaver, a number of largebronze vessels in Life, death and magic werefoundacrosstheIndonesianarchipelago.ThesuperbcastingskillsoftheDongSoncultureof north Vietnam (500BCE–200CE) and theactive trade in the spectacular Dong Sonbronzesisencapsulatedinthehuge2000yearoldMakalamaukettledrumonloanfromtheNational Museum of Indonesia. It displaysimages of saddle-roof houses, birds, boatsmanned by figures in extravagant featherheaddresses, found on Sangeang, a smallislandoffthecoastofSumbawa.

From the same Jakarta collection, a largeceremonialaxediscoveredonthefareasternIndonesian islandofRoti ismoreenigmatic,and may be a masterpiece from one of thelater regional bronze casting centres thatseem to have developed. An impressivebronze bell possibly from Cambodia andrecentlyacquiredby theNationalGalleryofAustraliacouldalsohavebeenproducedinaregionalworkshop.Thestyleoftheseobjects,combined with the thermoluminescencedatingoftheclaycoresoftheGallery’sBronze weaver and the Honolulu Academy of Art’sStanding bronze dog to the 4th–6th centuries,suggest a blossoming of local creativityinspiredbytreasuredDongSonheirlooms.

While textiles wonderfully represent thefemale arts of Southeast Asia, the malearts of hunting, including headhunting,are encapsulated in beautifully decoratedshields in the exhibition. The hot arts ofmetalsmeltingarealsothemaledomain,andrange in the exhibition from ancient bronzedaggers to luminous gold jewellery. A signof high status and wealth, gold ornamentsare an important part of the sacred regaliaof great houses and lineages. SpectaculargoldobjectsfromIndonesia’seasternislands– Sumba, Timor, Flores, Luang and Moa –havebeenborrowedfromaroundtheworld.So too has a full set of gold regalia fora Nias nobleman from Singapore’s AsianCivilisationsMuseum.Amongthemosteye-catchingof thegoldobjects in theexhibitionareburialmasks,fittingforthegraveofalocalruler,withexamplesfromthePhilippinesandIndonesia generously lent from the Barbier-MuellerMuseumcollection.

Some of the most significant figurativesculpture in Southeast Asian is associatedwith the veneration of ancestors, from thegreat mythological creators to important

genealogicalforebears.Manyarepairsofmaleand female, displaying the distinct genitaliaon which the fertility and fecundity of thefamily or community is founded. Drawnfrom international collections, the exhibitionshows the range of ways the human figureisdepicted,fromstrikinglyminimalformstosurprisingrealism.Thesculptures–inwoodandstone–havebeenchosentodemonstratethe continuity and similarities in style fromtheBronzeAgeuntil the 20th century,mostnotably in a widespread preference for theseatedfigure,armsrestinguponknees,oftenwithenlargedheadshowingstrongelongatedfacialfeatures.

The house altars of the small Indonesianisland communities of the south Moluccas(Maluku) are perhaps the most arresting ofthe art associated with the honouring andappeasing of ancestors. A small numberof spectacular wooden sculptures – fromthe little known islands of Leti, Damar andYamdena – have been borrowed from thecollection of the Dutch National Museum

of Ethnology in Leiden. The altars rangefrom tall poles where sky gods sit on boat-like forms to ornately scrolling, vaguelyanthropomorphic, sculptures incised withrepresentations of the family’s wealth ofsacred gold objects. They demonstrate theimportance of ancestor veneration and thetremendousartisticenergythatgoesintothecreationoffineSoutheastAsiananimistart.

The size and complexity of the exhibition,drawn from numerous internationalinstitutions, combined with the fragility ofmanyoftheloansmeansLife, death and magic: 2000 years of Southeast Asian artwill only beexhibitedattheNationalGalleryofAustraliaCanberra, from 13 August until 31 October2010. The show is accompanied by a fullyillustrated catalogue – and a well stockedexhibitionshop.

robyn Maxwell is Senior curator of asian art at the

National gallery of australia.

The BRonze weAveR, iNDONESia, 6th cENtUry, brONzE, 25.8 x 22.8 x 15.2 cM, NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia, caNbErra


he protective powers of beads and theirsymbolic association with durability,

fertilityandwealtharemanifestintheregardwithwhich beads and beadwork are held insomanypartsof islandSoutheastAsia.Shellbeads, employed in Southeast Asia since atleast the secondmillenniumBCE,wereoftenapplied in combination with imported glassbeads.While somebeadsweremade locally,beads from India and China were widelytradedthroughthearchipelagoportsandwereexchanged for local produce. From the late19th century, European drawn glass beadsbecameincreasinglyaccessible(Francis2002).

Beads could be highly valued objects inthemselves but the types of beads that wereprized varied. In parts of eastern Indonesia,beads were handed down as heirloom items,themutisalahor ‘falsepearls’beingaparticulartypeofsmallglassbeadsofanopaqueorangetoreddish-brown. The small orange-brown coiledglass seed beads are a class of heirloombeadsworn by the elite and are known as mutiraja(Francis 2002: 19-20, 186-7). For the OrangUlu community of central Borneo, flattenedpolychromerosettebeads,lukut sekala,werethemosthighlyesteemed(Munan2005:66,78).

Beads were integrated into the rich textiletraditionsofthearchipelago–stitched,nettedorwovenintoarangeofitems,fromceremonialhangings, betel bags and baby carriers tosarongs, dance skirts and jackets. A numberof distinctive ceremonial hangings and matsfromthecoastalareasofLampunginsouthernSumatraaredenselyworked inmonochromeglassseedbeads.Motifsrangefromelephant-like creatures to boat-shaped forms sharedwith the woven tampan and palepai – ritual

textilesusedashangings,mats andweddinggifts. Stitched beadwork, however, facilitatedmore free flowing designs and curvilinearformsthatcontrastwiththeangularpatterningofthewoventextiles.Rarerthantheirwovencounterparts,thesebeadedpanelsarethoughttohavebeenusedbythenobility(TaylorandAragon1991:132-4).

Textiles applied with beads and shellswere worn on ceremonial occasions. TheSumbanese women’s ceremonial skirtsfromeasternIndonesia,mud-dyedtoadarkchocolate brown, are sometimes decoratedinbeads (hada)with curious semi-abstractedforms that suggest composite creatureswith outstretched arms and legs (Maxwell1990: 96). Inother cloths,human figures areshownwitharmsraisedfromtheelbowsandgenitalia emphasised. In contrast to thesebold and colourful designs, the mountain-dwelling Atayal of Taiwan crafted hempjackets stitched with strings of white beadsmadefromthediscsofgiantclamsobtainedthrough trade with coastal peoples. Wornby successful headhunters, these jackets notonly spoke of the physical prowess of theindividual but also their access to ‘foreign’beads(Sumberg2010:145).

AlegendoftheNgadapeople inFlorestellshow beads, gold and cloth all blossomedmagicallyfromthebranchesofatreeplantedby two orphans, becoming items that weremuch coveted by the villagers (Hamilton1994: 108). Like cloth and gold, importedbeads must have held a mystery, inspiringa sense ofwonder for the locals. Theywereincorporated into the lowerhalfofwomen’stubular garments, the lawo butu. In some

of these skirts, beadwork diamonds andhexagons with spindly protrusions formcolourful disruptions to the orderly indigoand white ikat bands of the textiles. Thesignificance of these patterns is not wellunderstood but could relate to fertility, astheclothsareusedinceremoniestoimproveharvests(Maxwell1990:141).

Regardedas‘hard’objectsandassociatedwiththemalesphere,beadsstoodinoppositionto‘soft’textilesmadebywomen.Combinedoncloth and clothing, beadwork symbolicallyconnected the two spheres (Maxwell 1990:58-63). Although the Ngada lawo butuwere worn by women, the beadwork wasexecuted bymen and the cloths themselveswere ‘named’ posthumously after the deathof the high-status clan leaders who hadcommissioned the pieces (Hamilton 1994:109). Stored alongside other clan treasures,such beaded textiles embodied not only anindividualhistorybutalsobecameintegraltothesustenanceofcommunalmemory.

Beaded accoutrements worn by womenduringfeastingaddedtothecelebratoryfeelof the occasion. In Engano, a small islandoff the southwest coast of Sumatra, strikingbelts, typically embellished with red, whiteandblueimportedbeads,werewornatritualfeasts to celebrate an abundantharvest.ElioModigliani, an Italian who visited Enganoin1891,wroteof their ceremonialdressanddescribed their petticoats (sottanino) madeof beads and vegetable fibres, moving withevery motion of their legs (1894: 152). Theweight of their garments, particularly of thebeadedbelts,couldevenmakethewomenfeelfaint(terKeurs2006:156).Thenumberofred

T

B E a d w o r k o f i s l a n d s o u t h E a s t a s i a

Hwei-Fe’n Cheah

BatakcErEMonialJackEt, iNDONESia, 19th cENtUry, cOttON, bEaDS, MEtaL bELLS; SUppLEMENtary wEft wEaVE, appLiQUé, 37.0 x 132.0 cM, NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia, caNbErra


beadsontheapronfringeissaidto‘representthe number of heads taken for the feast’(ter Keurs 2006: 156, 172), closely aligningthe symbolism of women’s dress with theritualandregenerativenatureofsuchfeasts,reinforcing theparallel relationshipbetweenheadhuntingandfertility.

Colour symbolism may help to explainthe use of colour on the Batak women’sceremonial jacket (baju omon).Stringsof red,white, black and some dark blue glass seedbeadsarestitchedinradialrowsinastrikingbulls-eye pattern over the front and back ofthe bodice of such jackets, and small bellsare often attached to the lower edge. Thesethreecolourscorrespondtothesacredcoloursfor the northern Sumatran Toba Batak andKaroBatakgroups,whoemployared-white-black combination of threads to representtheir tripartite social structureand theunityand co-operation between affinal families(Maxwell1990:98;Niessen2009:42).

However,neitherthesignificanceofthebeadsnor thepattern on the bridal jacket is easilyunderstood. Overviews of Batak art do notgenerallydiscusspatternsofconcentriccircles.While the pattern has a formal similarity tothe representationsof theprominenteyesoftheTobaBataksinga(lion),withtheirdilatedblackpupils encircledby concentric ringsofa contrasting colour, further connections aredifficulttoextrapolate.

The short jacket is simply tailored, withslightlytaperinglongsleevesandanopeningdownthefront.Niessen(1993,2009:399-400)documentsthebaju omonasabridalgarmentthat may have originated in the southernBatakarea,wornbytheTobaandAngkola/Mandaliling groups. She also suggests thattheensemblepre-datedcolonialinvolvementin the area (Niessen 1993: 72-79). Indeed,this formofbeaded jacketwas illustrated incoloured lithographs of Mandailing bridaldresspublishedbyaDutch linguist in1861.Photographs taken in the early 20th centuryalso show a southern Batak bride clad ina beaded jacket with a bulls-eye design(Niessen 1993: 25, 72-73, 114; Sibeth 1991:208). Yet, where, when and why this formof beaded jacket emerged in Batak societyremainsdifficulttoexplain.

A connection that is both intriguing andpuzzlingispresentedbyaphotographtakenbefore 1935 of Toba Batak masked dancersat the funeral of an important man, heldto inform the deceased of the promise offuture offerings, an undertaking that servedto appease the spirit of the dead (Taylorand Aragon 1991: 116). In this image, oneof themaskeddancers iswearingagarmentwhose front bodice is decorated (possiblywithbeads)inabulls-eyepattern–radiatingfrom the centre are at least six concentriccirclesinalternatingwhiteanddarkcolours.

Bataknecklaces also suggest thepossibility ofa second, albeit weaker association betweenritualclothingofonegroupandthebridaldressofanother.Mandailingbrideswore longneckornamentswithmultiplestrandsofbeads.Longneck and shoulder ornaments (sinata godeng)with multiple strands of beads attached to aleather neck band were worn by the wivesof Toba Batak clan leaders at their annualagricultural ceremony at which the womenwould be possessed by spirits (Sibeth 1991:99; Taylor and Aragon 1991: 112, 117). Bothinvolvedtheprocreativepowersofnature.

Amongst the Sa’dan Toraja of Sulawesi,beadwork was executed by men. The mostdistinctive of these items is the kandaure, aconical shaped hanging with long tassels

alongthewidestedge,formedbythenettingof beads over a bamboo frame. Typically,the narrow neck at the top is decoratedwith a band of small figures. These arethought torepresent thegodsof theTorajanupperworldorancestorsandthebeadsbelowthe descendants, such that the kandaure actsas ametaphor for an interconnectedweb ofmanydescendants(Morrell2005:120).

Kandaureweresuspendedfrombamboopolesduring funerals but also worn by relativesof the deceased to greetmourners and leaddancers at the funeral (Taylor and Aragon1991: 186-7).However, the kandaurewasnotexclusively funerary for it was draped overtheshouldersofdancersduringthericeritual(Taylor and Aragon 1991: 186-7). A symbolofabundanceandregeneration, themultipleuses of the kandaure in both fertility andmortuary ceremonies remind us of islanderbeliefs in the intimate relationships betweenthelivingandthedead.

Hwei-Fe’nCheah isLecturer,ArtHistory atthe School of Cultural Inquiry, AustralianNationalUniversity.

The introduction and section on Batak beadwork are adapted from ‘Beadwork from Sumatra in the National Gallery of Australia’, Bead Study Trust Newsletter, 2009

rEfErEncEshamilton, roy (ed.), 1994. Gift of the cotton maiden: textiles of

Flores and the Solor Islands, fowler Museum of cultural history,

Los angeles.

francis Jr., peter, 2002. Asia’s maritime bead trade: 300 B.C. to

the present, University of hawai’i press, honolulu.

Maxwell, robyn, 1990. Textiles of Southeast Asia: tradition, trade

and transformation, Oxford University press, Melbourne.

Modigliani, Elio, 1894. L’isola delle donne: viaggio ad Engano,

hoepli, Milan.

Morrell, Elizabeth, 2005. Securing a place: small scale artisans in

modern Indonesia, cornell University press, ithaca.

Munan, heidi, 2005. Beads of Borneo, Editions Didier Millet,

Singapore.

Niessen, Sandra, 1993. Batak cloth and clothing: a dynamic

Indonesian tradition, Oxford University press, Kuala Lumpur.

Niessen, Sandra, 2009. Legacy in Cloth: Batak textiles of

Indonesia, KitLV press, Leiden.

Sumberg, bobbie, 2010. Textiles: collection of the Museum of

International Folk Art, gibbs Smith, Utah.

Sibeth, achim, 1991. The Batak: peoples of the island of Sumatra,

thames and hudson, New york.

taylor, paul Michael and Lorraine V. aragon, 1991. Beyond the

Java sea: art of Indonesia’s outer islands, Smithsonian institution,

washington, D.c.

ter Keurs, pieter, 2006. Condensed reality: a study of material

culture, cNwS publications, Leiden.

sa’dantoraJacErEMonial

oBJEctandBEadEdnEck

ornaMEnt[kandauré],

iNDONESia, 19th cENtUry, bEaDS,

cOttON; bEaD-wOrK, tabLEt wEaVE,

pLaitiNg, 89.0 x 40.0 cM, NatiONaL

gaLLEry Of aUStraLia, caNbErra


¯

ncestorimagerydominatestheartoftheanimist cultures of Taiwan, where the

various indigenous groups are distinct yetcloselyrelatedintermsofgeneralworldview,community organisation and ritual practice.Inbroaderterms,theyhavestronglinguisticandculturalaffinitieswithotherAustronesiancommunities across Southeast Asia and thePacific, with whom they share beliefs inpowerfulinterventionistspiritsofnatureandthedead.InTaiwan’straditionalPaiwanandYami communities, art serves a religiousfunction. Designs representing deceasedancestorsare intended to communicatewiththespiritualworldandmaintainorder.

One of the largest of Taiwan’s indigenousgroups, the Paiwan, live in the southernmountains. Paiwan society is hierarchical –consisting of high nobles, secondary noblesand commoners – and status is hereditary.Formedbydescent,thehighnobilityofeachvillageismadeupofthefirst-bornchildofthepreviousnoble family, their spouseandanyunmarried offspring (Cameron 1985: 161).Village nobles are the landowners and areresponsible for community well-being andprosperity.AsthePaiwanbelieveinanarrayof supernatural beings, the most importantrole of the nobility is to observe customaryreligious rituals that appease nature spiritsandtheghostsofancestors(Ferrell1969:45).

Thehouse inwhich thehigh-rankingnobleslive isat thecentreof thesecommunalrites.Whenachief’shouseisconstructed,afeastisheldandofferingsaremadetoancestorspirits(ChenChi-Lu1968:290).Madefromslateandwood, thebuilding isatonceadwelling forthelivingandaritualplacetohousehistoricalancestors, who were traditionally buriedwithinthenoblehouse(Cameron1985:163).

Paiwan architectural ornamentationreinforces the religious nature of the chief’shouse, with carved images of ancestorsadorning wooden wall and door posts(Cameron1985:163).IncludedintheNationalGallery of Australia’s Life, death and magic: 2000 years of Southeast Asian ancestral artexhibition are two impressive 19th centuryPaiwan panels. Each carved wooden panelfeatures a stylised human figure, one maleand one female, to flank the doorway to anoble’s house. The complementary pairingofimagesandpronouncedgenitaliaillustratethe underlying importance of fertility in

Paiwan art and religion.With sucha strong emphasis on hereditarytitleandcommunityprosperity, therituals to which these works of artrelate were intended to ensure thenoble line. In typical Paiwan style,the naked figures are compressedto fill most of the panel and standwith knees bent, feet turned out,andarmsheldsothatthehandsareatshoulderheight.Thesimplefaceshave strong eyebrows, large nosesandsmallmouths,withcirculareyesofinlaidporcelain.

Within Paiwan culture, ancestorimagery is created to representrecently deceased nobles aswell asdistantormythicalancestors.Whena member of the nobility dies, awoodenpanel is carvedandpairedwith an image of a legendaryancestor.Thetwotypesofimagecanusually be differentiated, as distantancestorsarerepresentedwithsnakemotifs(ChenChi-Lu1988:188,338).Here the male figure has a snakeheaddress, while the female figurewears a circular head ornament.While these two panels stylisticallyappeartobeacouple,itisnotknownwhethertheywereoriginallypairedinthesamestructure.

The Paiwan nobles claim descentfrom a mythical snake identifiedwith the local hundredpacer snake(Chiang 2001: 222). In one accountof the Paiwan creation myth, thesun laid two eggs on top of amountain. The eggs were hatchedafteragiantsnakesunkitsfangsintothem,passingonsomeofitspower.Fromtheeggsamanandawomanemerged – the original ancestors ofthePaiwanandfoundersofthenobleline (Cameron 1985: 163). Snakeimageryisthereforereservedforusebynoblesandforrepresentationsofmythicalancestorspirits.

In contrast to thePaiwan, theYamipeopleliveinvillagesontheshoresof the small mountainous islandof Botel Tobago, south-east of themain islandofTaiwan.Daily life intraditional communities centres on

A

a n c E s t o r s i n t h E a r c h i t E c t u r E : i n d i g E n o u s a r t f r o M t a i w a n

Lucie Folan YaMicErEMonialstaff, bOtEL tObagO, taiwaN, 19th cENtUry,

wOOD, pigMENtS, 201.0 x 45.0 x 13.0 cM, fOwLEr MUSEUM

Of cULtUraL hiStOry, UcLa, LOS aNgELES


fishingandfarmingandadherencetovariousrituals.Living in relative isolation, theYamihave developed a rather distinctive culture,with close affinities to the nearby islands ofthenorthernPhilippines(Ferrell1969:58).

TheYamiritualcalendarrevolvesaroundtheannual migration of flying fish, considereda sacred source of food. Ceremonies areperformed to summon, store and preparethe fish, and various taboos are observedduring the fishing season (Del Re 1951: 33).According to Yami belief, humans have anumber of different souls that are liberatedafter death to become either benevolentancestorspiritsormalevolentanito.(CameronandSumnik-Dekovich1985:171).MostYamiceremoniesareintendedtohonourancestorsand dispel anito, considered responsible for

poor harvests, disease, death and naturaldisasters.OneofthemostimportantfiguresinYamibeliefisMagamoag,alegendarycreatorancestorwhotaughttheskilloffishingtotheYamipeople(KanoandSegawa1956:290).

A superb openwork staff on loan fromthe Fowler Museum of Cultural History(UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles)totheLife, death and magicexhibition,featuresthreesimple stylisedMagamoag figures with redbodies, black heads and white spiral armsand headdresses, colours that characteriseYami ritual art. Ceremonial staffs weredisplayed during significant events such asboat launches, feasts and the constructionof houses, when the presence of anito isparticularly inauspicious (Cameron andSumnik-Dekovich 1985: 171). The circularmotif, which typically appears on Yamicanoe prows, is called mata no tatara (eyeof the canoe) and, likeMagamoag, serves aprotectivepurpose.

The most culturally valuable art forms ofthe Yami are decorated canoes and houseposts (tomok). Traditional family dwellingsconsist of amain house built below groundto withstand frequent typhoons, a separatework-house, and a platform for eating andsocialising.A tomoksupportstheroofapexofthemain house, symbolising the connectionbetween sea and mountain (Adachi 2003).The tomok is the first element to be erected

after a house site is excavated. Highlyvalued, tomokarepasseddownfrom

one generation to the next andmoved if a family relocatesorreconstructsahouse(Cameronand Sumnik-Dekovich 1985:

172). Like the Paiwan people,imagery associated with ancestor spirits

is incorporated into traditional houses. Thestrikingly bold red, black and white designsofMagamoagandtheeyeofthecanoeontheNational Gallery of Australia’s house-post,are typical of images intended to protect ahouseholdfrommalevolentspiritsofthedead.The goat’s hornmotif, carved in relief abovethespiralformsoftheMagamoagdesign,isasymboloflongevity(ChenChi-Lu1968:291).

The depictions of ancestors within thePaiwanandYamiculturesofTaiwan,thoughdifferent stylistically, have the same intent– to honour ancestors and pacify hostilespiritual forces for the benefit of the familyand wider community. While the art fromTaiwan inLife, death and magic: 2000 years of Southeast Asian ancestral art is only a smallpartoftheexhibition,itwillbethelargestandmost representative collection of indigenousTaiwaneseartevershowninAustralia.

Lucie folan is curator of asian art at the National

gallery of australia.

rEfErEncEsadachi, takashi, 2003. ‘isolating and connecting: a study on the

composition of space in the yami’s four-entranced main house’ in

Journal of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Engineering. Japan

cameron, Elisabeth L, 1985. ‘ancestor motifs of the paiwan’

in feldman, Jerome (ed) 1988: The eloquent dead: ancestral

sculpture of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. University of california,

Los angeles

cameron, Elisabeth L and Sumnik-Dekovich, 1985. ’Magamoag:

benevolent ancestor of the yami’ in feldman, Jerome (ed) 1985:

The eloquent dead: ancestral sculpture of Indonesia and Southeast

Asia. University of california, Los angeles

chen chi-Lu, 1968. Material culture of the Formosan aborigines.

taiwan Museum, taipei

chen chi-Lu, 1988. ‘Notes on a wooden house-post of the budai

paiwan’ in barbier, Jean paul and Newton, Douglas (eds) 1988: Islands

and ancestors: indigenous styles of Southeast Asia. prestel, Munich

chiang, bien, 2001. ‘paiwan sculpture’ in Sculptures: Africa, Asia,

Oceania, Americas, Musée du quai branly, paris

Del re, arundel, 1951. Creation myths of the Formosan natives.

hokuseido press, tokyo

ferrel, raleigh, 1969. ‘taiwan aboriginal groups: problems in

cultural and linguistic classification’ in Monographs of the Institute

of Ethnology, academia Sinica, taipei

Kano, tadao and Segawa, Kokichi 1956. An illustrated

ethnography of Formosan aborigines. Maruzen, tokyo

YaMihousE-post[toMok], bOtEL tObagO, taiwaN, 19th

cENtUry, wOOD, pigMENtS, 216.6 x 108.8 x 8.0 cM, NatiONaL

gaLLEry Of aUStraLia, caNbErra

paiwanancEstorpanEl, taiwaN, 19th cENtUry,

wOOD, MirrOr, pOrcELaiN, bOttLE capS, 185.0 x 41.0 x 9.0 cM,

fOwLEr MUSEUM Of cULtUraL hiStOry, UcLa, LOS aNgELES


reated for the veneration andappeasement of ancestors and the

attainment of high status and power, theart of Nias – a small island situated offSumatra’s west coast – is widely acclaimedasamongthemostdramaticandspectacularexamplesofIndonesiananimistart.Inearliertimes monumental sculptures carved fromstone and wood in the form of ancestraland aristocratic effigies, obelisks, pillars,steles and seats of honour were prolificthroughout the entire island.Although rare,complete and remnant examples of theseimpressivemonumentsarestillfoundamongtraditionalNihavillages,oröri,whichconsistof immense wooden houses, paved terracesand stone plazas. The desire to emphasiserankandpietyalsoresultedintheproductionof precious gold jewellery, smaller ancestralfiguresandarchitecturalelements.

Namedaftertheirfoundingancestors,theöriof Nias have distinct customs based on thelawsdictatedbytheirforebears.Ancestrallawemphasises a distinct hierarchical divisionconsisting of an hereditary aristocracy whotrace their lineage from founding ancestors,aswellascommoncitizens.Whileallcitizensare ultimately connected to the deities andancestors of the upper and lowerwords, inthepastslavesgovernedbytheupperclasseswere considered inhuman and denied allrightsofcitizenship, including livingamongtherestofsociety(Feldman1985:45).

OnNias,ritesassociatedwiththecycleoflife,the prosperity of communities, significantevents in an individual’s life, and politicaleventswereoftenaccompaniedbymajorfeasts(owasa). Gatherings held tomark a village’sfoundation,afuneral,ameetingofclanswithcommon ancestry, or to celebrate a noble’selevation, occasioned the commissioning ofnumerous effigies, precious adornments ingold and the distribution of wealth. Eachowasa was sponsored by the aristocracy aswellascommonerstodemonstratededicationto the ancestors and to mark a rise in rank(Ziegler1990:79).

A striking anthropomorphic stone monument (gowe nio niha) is among a collection ofimportant Indonesian ancestral and animistsculpture held by the National Gallery ofAustralia(NGA).Almosttwoandahalfmetrestall, the impressivefigureofanoblemanwascommissionedforafeastofmeritintendedto

ratifyorelevatethepatron’ssocialandpoliticalstanding. Carved in the style of the austereshafts and stele found throughout Nias, theboldfigureisdepictedwithbotharmsraisedin a gesture of authority and benevolence.Its facial features andmarkers of high statusare carved in low stylised relief. While thepatron’s warlike qualities of bravery andstrengthareevidencedbytheemphasisonthepectorals and genitalia, his great affluence ismarkedbythedepictioninstoneofthetypicalaccoutrementsofaNihanoblemanincludingagold bifurcated headdress, pectoral necklace,banglesandearstuds.

OnNiastheroleofgoldisrichandmultifacetedand its power cannot be understated. Usedfor ceremonial exchange, brideprice and as amarker ofwealth and status, gold –which isassociatedwith theupperworld– symbolisesthe divinity and power of the upper classes(Rodgers 1985: 80). The precious metal isubiquitous, appearing on all manner ofitems including jewellery, weapons, textilesand furniture. Imbued with magical powersderived from the supernatural realms, objectsingoldservetomediatebetweentherealandsupernatural worlds and serve as amulets towardoffmalevolentforces(deMoor1990:107).

Gold also expresses the complementaryopposites–upperandlowerworld,nobleandcommon,maleandfemale–which,accordingtoNihalaw,arefundamentaltotheexistenceof the cosmos. For example, pure yellowgold, along with yellow cloth, is associatedwiththenobleclasseswhileredorfalsegold(gold alloy) and red cloth are associatedwith commoners (Rodgers 1985: 80). Evencharacter is described in terms of goldwitha good and bad nature being referred to asyellow and red gold respectively (de Moor1990:111-12).

Inprosperoustimesarichvarietyofjewellerywas produced for members of the nobleand common classes by local goldsmithsfrom imported gold dust and leaf fromSumatra, and later from Dutch coins (deMoor 1990: 108). In the endless struggle toattain the highest possible status, the arrayof ceremonial accoutrements commissionedforspectacularowasa feastsincludedcrowns,necklaces, ear ornaments and bracelets allfeaturing different shapes and motifs. Inthe case of the most noble, striking facialadornments of goldmoustaches and beardswere also produced. Exquisite examplesof such regalia have been borrowed from

C

s p l E n d o u r f o r t h E a n c E s t o r s – t h E s c u l p t u r E a n d g o l d o f n i a s

Niki van den Heuvel

pEctoralnEcklacE, NiaS, iNDONESia, 19th cENtUry. gOLD, 24.5 x 22.3 cM, aSiaN ciViLiSatiONS MUSEUM, SiNgapOrE


international collections to complement theGallery’s collection of Nias stone sculpturefor the exhibition Life, death and magic: 2000 years of Southeast Asian ancestral art.

An elegant set of chieftain’s gold in the formof the nifato-fato pectoral necklace and thecentral peak of a crown (tuwu, nandzulo orsaembu ana’a) has been selected from theAsian Civilisations Museum in Singapore.Hammered from gold sheet with undulatingridges and repoussé motifs, nifato-fato werewornbymalenoblementhroughoutNiasandlesscommonlybywomenintheisland’ssouth.Thestrikingcrownpinnacle,morethanhalfametreinheight,wouldhavebeenadornedwithgold elements in the form of ornate foliage.Worntogether,theseelementsrepresentedtheuniversal tree of life fromwhich all existenceoriginates(deMoor1990:117).

OnshowforthefirsttimeinLife, death and magic is another powerful example ofmonumentalNias sculpture that further demonstratesthe variety ofNiha gold ornamentation. Thespectacular gowe salawa, which would alsohave been commissioned for an owaha feast,is carved in the more realistic style foundespeciallyinthenorthernvillagesoftheisland.Aparticularlyrarework,thefiguremirrorsaslightly more eroded example, undoubtedlybythesamesculptor,ondisplayintheMuséeduLouvre’sPaviliondeSessionsinParis.

Shown in the squatting position – an ancientposeappearingrepeatedlyintheancestralartofSoutheastAsia–thegowe salawa’scharacteristicmoustache and pointed beard may depictgold ornamental versions of these masculine

traits.Alongwithanelaboratelydefinedcrownand studded headband, the figure wears asingle earpendantandbangle.Thenoblemanis also shown wearing a torque (nifa tali), asymbolof the solidarityof villagers (deMoor1990:107),made fromtwistedstrandsofgoldwire and a sword and scabbard at the hip.These accoutrements overtly emphasise thearistocrat’saccomplishmentasagreatwarrior.

TheprowessoftheNiaswarriorisalsomanifestin Life death and magic with the selection oftrappings of power including an elaboratesword and scabbard (balatö) and necklace ofpolished coconut shell discs (kalabubu), bothon loan from Amsterdam’s Tropenmuseum.Withahiltintheformofthemythicaldragon-like lasara, the balatö also features a bundleof protective amulets in the form of smallancestorfigures.Resemblingtheformofgoldnifa tali necklaces, the kalabubu wasworn bycommonandnoblewarriorswhohadtakenahead. In thecaseof thearistocracy,however,the kalabubu would have been covered withgoldleaf(deMoor1990:117).

Displays of the finest jewellery werereserved for major feasts with smaller andless ostentatious examples worn as part ofeveryday life. Depictions of the sumptuousgold commissioned for feasts of meritthereforeserveasavaluablecommemorationof a patron’s largesse and devotion toancestorsanddeities.Stoneeffigiesofchiefs,immense stone seats in the form of themythical osa-osa and wooden house panelscarvedwithdepictionsofjewellerycontinuedtoemphasiseapatron’sbountylongaftertheendofanowasa(deMoor1990:117).

The portrayal of finery is also present on thefigurescarvedasreceptaclesforancestorspirits,to which offerings were made by the living.The exhibition includes a fine selection ofNihawoodenancestorstatuesfromrenownedinternational collections including theBarbier-MuellerMuseum inGenevaand theNationalMuseumof Indonesia in Jakarta.Anexquisiteadu zatua from the Barbier-Mueller Museum,for example, is a strikingdepictionof anobleancestorwearinganifato-fato,töla jaga armbandandanelegantsingleearpendant.

Shown on a scale never before seen inAustralia, the art and regalia ofNias in Life, death and magic demonstrate the impressivevariationsofNihaart.Frompreciousgold tomonumentaldisplaysofgrandeur,theseworksrevealthedevotionofacommunitytoancientforebears and, ultimately, the obsessionwiththeachievementofgreatestmerit.

Niki van den heuvel is the Exhibition assistant for Life,

death and magic: 2000 years of Southeast Asian art.

rEfErEncEsfeldman, Jerome, 1985. The eloquent dead: ancestral sculpture of

Indonesia and Southeast Asia, UcLa Museum of cultural history,

Los angeles.

de Moor, Maggie, 1990. ‘the importance of gold jewellery in

Nias culture’ in feldman, Jerome et al., Nias tribal treasures,

Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara, Delft.

rodgers, Susan, 1985. Power and gold: jewellery from Indonesia,

Malaysia and the Philippines from the collection of the Barbier-

Mueller Museum, Geneva, barbier-Mueller Museum, geneva.

ziegler, arlette, 1990. ‘festive areas: territories and feats in the

south of Nias’ in feldman, Jerome et al., Nias tribal treasures,

Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara, Delft.

cEntralpEakofacrown,NiaS, iNDONESia,

19th cENtUry. gOLD, 52.0 x 28.0 cM.,

aSiaN ciViLiSatiONS MUSEUM, SiNgapOrE

niasanthropoMorphicstonEMonuMEnt[gowEnio

niha], iNDONESia, 19th cENtUry Or EarLiEr, StONE, 240.0 x

99.0 x 16.0 cM, NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia, caNbErra

niasanthropoMorphicstonEMonuMEnt[gowE

salawa], iNDONESia, 19th cENtUry Or EarLiEr, StONE, 160.0 x

30.0 x 41.0 cM, NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia, caNbErra

13ta a S a r E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 2 13

he traditional art of the Melanau, likethe other ethnic groups of Borneo, was

driven by spiritual practices that includedshamanism, ritual sacrifice and superstition.ThenameMelanau(alsospelledMalanauandMilanau) was given to people living in theregionofnorthandnortheastBorneoaround1862whentheRajahofSarawakannexedtheregion from the Sultan of Brunei. The areabecamepartoftheThirdDivisionofSarawakand ‘his officials used the nameMelanau todescribe thepeoplewho lived in theRejangdeltaandcoastalareaasfarasBintulu’(Morris1991: 4). As well as being fishermen, theMelanauweredistinguishedfromothertribesbytheirfarmingofsago(Morris1991:16-17).As fooddemandsgrewrapidly inSoutheastAsia, sagodeveloped into a profitable tradeitemforthebusinessmenofKuchingandtheMelanau became economically important tothe local government. TheMelanau fall intotwoloosegroups:thoselivingnearthecoastand those living inland along the river, andthere are six sub-groups named after theirgeographicallocations.

The art of Borneo is most immediatelyassociatedwithlargespiritfiguresandcarvedwoodendoors,housebeamsandposts,gravemarkers and the like. But alongside thesevery obvious and communal artworks thereexisted a more personal group of artefactswhich is much less known. This group iscomprisedof small, carvedobjectsvariouslycalled amulets, fetishes or charms andwerebelieved to offer strong personal protectionagainst misadventure and illness. Indeed,the practice of tying protective charms tofood baskets, baby carriers and otherpersonal itemswaswidespreadamongst theindigenous peoples of Borneo. Each charmwas made for an individual and often fora specific purpose. They were not usuallyre-usedbutweremostlikelydisposedofwiththedeceasedandassucharequiterare.

Amongst the Melanau, small charms werealso used for the important communalpurpose of protecting all activities relatedto fishing. The traditional Melanau religionis called Liko, which means ‘people of theriver’(Tettoni&Ong1996:24).ThechiefgodisUlaGemilang, the seadivinity, indicatingthe importance of the sea and rivers.Fishing was integral to Melanau life andthe Melanau calendar months have namesrelating to fishing (Appleton 2006: 79). Life

revolvedaroundthemonsoonsandthemostimportant community festivalwas theKaul,theannualritualcleansingofthevillageandblessingofthefishingseason.Oneofthefewtraditional ceremonies still observed today,the festival takes place during the Marchfullmoon,whichusuallyheralds the endofthe northeast monsoons, when fishing andplantingcanresume.

Thereweremanycomplexcustomsassociatedwith fishing. ‘Melanau fishermen, especiallywhentheyworkedinthedeeperwatersandusedthelargernets,observedtaboos,recitedspells, and used images of spirits carved ofwood or bone (bilum [or] dakan) tied to thenets. No woman was allowed on a barong on its way to the fishing grounds’ (Morris1991:211).Someotherritualsobservedwere:‘conversation about animals was forbiddentopreventcarelesstalkthatmightbeseenasdisrespect that could bring about a state of baliyu, accompaniedby stormand lightning.Before lowering the net the shipmastersilently recited spells, and each specialist,the steersman and the swimmers, knewappropriate spells which they used silently.The images of spirits tied to the nets wereseenasaguaranteethatthefishingwasdonewiththeirapproval’(Morris1991:212).

These spirit images were an important partof the Melanau artistic expression. In 1912Hose and McDougall wrote: ‘the Malanaus[sic],excelallothertribes, inthattheyattainahighlevelofachievementinagreatvarietyof [decorative] arts’, with the Malanausparticularly skilled in fine wood carving(224).A number ofMelanau fishing charmsare illustrated in Lucas Chin’s Cultural Heritage of Sarawak (1980: 86). A collectionofwell-documentedcharmscanbe foundattheBritishMuseumandwerepublishedinaspecial issue ofThe Sarawak Museum JournalpriortobeingdonatedtotheMuseum(1997:153-320). The two figures illustrated herewere carved inboneandarevery similar informtoMelanauwoodeneffigies.

Today, many indigenous customs andtraditions have disappeared or are moreceremonial in nature. By 1996 BeatriceClayre noted that only ‘two old men’ werestill carving belum (also spelled bilum) inMedong, on the Sarawak coast (Clayre inMorris 1997: 176). Younger generations areno longer isolated from the modern world,

and lifestyles have changed dramatically.As early as the 1960s, over 60%ofMelanauwere Muslim and many others followed aChristianfaith(Morris1991:6).Itisoftenonlythrough the works of early anthropologistsandethnographers thatweareable toplacetheseartefactsinanycontextasmanyoftherituals in which these objects were crucialparticipantsarenowlost.

Dr charlotte galloway is Lecturer, art history at

the School of cultural inquiry, australian National

University

rEfErEncEsappleton, ann, 2006. Acts of integration, Expressions of Faith.

Madness, Death and Ritual in Melanau Ontology, borneo

research council, phillips.

chin, Lucas, 1980. Cultural Heritage of Sarawak, Sarawak

Museum, Kuching.

hose, charles and william MacDougall, 1912. The Pagan tribes

of Borneo, reprint Oxford University press, Singapore, 2 vols,

1993, vol.1.

Morris, Stephen, 1991. The Oya Melanau, Malaysian historical

Society, Kuching (Sarawak branch).

Morris, Stephen, 1997. ‘the Oya Melanau: traditional ritual

and belief’, in beatrice clayre (ed) [special issue], The Sarawak

Museum Journal L11 (73, new series), Sarawak Museum

Department, Sarawak.

tettoni, Luca and Edric Ong, 1996. Living in Sarawak,

thames and hudson, London.

s M a l l a n d p o t E n t – f i s h i n g c h a r M s a n d t h E M E l a n a u o f B o r n E o

Charlotte Galloway

T

MElanaufishingcharMs, SarawaK, MaLaySia,

19th cENtUry, bOar tUSK, 10.9 x 1.6 x 1.8 cM (r);

11.0 x 1.4 x 2.2 cM (L), gift Of rEx aND carOLiNE StEVENSON

2010, NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia, caNbErra


selection of recently acquired portraitphotographs from India form the focus

of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA)display from itsAsia-Pacific collection.Theseworksarefulloftension:betweenscienceandart, thepastand thepresent,photographyasa tool ofdocumentationandas a site for theimagination. Western modes of expressionjostle with an approach that seems moreintrinsically Indian, one inwhich adornmentandornamentationisfundamentalandwherereality is not always what it seems. Hand-colouredimagesareoftenparticularlystrikinginthewayregionalIndianpaintingtraditionsand an importedmediummeet and create anew language, one that speaks to the stressbutalsothedynamismthatisgeneratedwhenone culture seeks to accommodate the visualconventionsandpoliticaldemandsofanother.

There is something strange about the platesin William J. Johnson’s The oriental races and tribes, residents and visitors of Bombay,published in two volumes in London in1863 and 1866 – the first photographicallyillustrated ethnographic publication onIndia. Their odd look is attributed to thefact that Johnson and his colleagueWilliamHenderson photographed the people intheir studio in Bombay – but that Johnsonsubsequently bleached out the backgroundsand overprinted them with topographicalviewsfromseparatenegatives.Healsodrewinotherfeatures,suchasfoliage.

This is arguably one of the most engaginguses of montage in the pioneering era ofphotography, unexpected in images servingas documentary evidence. That theseworks– the earliest dated images in the display– show a high degree of manipulation isprescient for what follows, most evident inthe flamboyant and distinctly Indian styleof hand-coloured images. This is a genrethat anarchically undermines the notion ofphotography as a transparent window ontotheworld,asaglimpseofreality.

Photography arrived in India soon after itsinvention in the late 1830s. The mediumwas slow to take hold in the new climate –few early daguerreotype studios lasted longand examples are scarce. Soon, however,India provided young British men withemployment and adventure but alsowith anovelvocation.WilliamJ.Johnsonworkedasacivilservantbutfoundhimselfdrawntothe

newmedium,becomingafoundingmemberoftheBombayPhotographicSocietyin1854.BythenotheramateurssuchasLinneusTripe(serving in theMadras Army) and Dr JohnMurray(oftheIndianMedicalService)wereproducing images that ‘stand comparison,both aesthetically and technically, withimages produced anywhere in theworld inthesameperiod’(Falconer2001:9).

A rage for all things Indian gradually grewin England after the quelling of the SepoyMutiny in 1857. This ended the Mughalera and signalled the subsumption ofthe subcontinent into the British Empire,leading up to the announcement in 1877 atthe Imperial Assemblage in Delhi of QueenVictoria as the ‘Empress of India’ (Gordon2008:45).The1860sthroughtothe1890swereyearsthatbelongedtotheforeignprofessionalphotographer, supplying images to an ever-burgeoning trade in tourist views forwhichthe Victorian age had an almost insatiableappetite. Perhaps the most significant arethelandscapeviewsbySamuelBourne,whoused picturesque conventions to tame theruggedterrainofthenorthofIndia.

ThenotableexceptionistheworkbyLalaDeenDayal, photographing from the mid 1870s.A draughtsman by training, his technicalproficiency, togetherwith a fine artist’s eye,appealedtoawideaudience.In1887,havingalready achieved vice-regal patronage, he

became the only Indian photographer tobe awarded the use of the title ‘by Royalappointment’byQueenVictoria.Imagesfromanalbumcommemorating thehugemilitaryexercise or ‘camp of exercise’ which tookplaceoverafortnightinJanuary1886aroundDelhiisincludedinthedisplay.

Far from stressing the grand nature of themanoeuvres, Deen Dayal often positionedhis cameraatpeculiarly lowvantagepoints,resulting in images that stress a dynamismbordering on shambolic disorganisation.Often, as Judith Mara Gutmann has noted:‘themenlookedasiftheywereabouttostepoutofthepicture’–atendencywhichsheseesasbeingpartofanIndianwayofpicturingtheworld(Gutmann1982:7).Aroundthetimeofthese photographs Deen Dayal was able toretire fromgovernmenthavingattracted thepatronageof thesixthNizamofHyderabad,MahbubAliKhan,AsifJahVI,amanofgreatinfluenceandwealth.

Photography was the vehicle par excellenceforfeedingtheVictorian-eramania,growingout of colonial imperatives, for cataloguing(and therefore controlling) the world theysought to own: its buildings, particularlyin romantically ruined state, its flora andfauna but also importantly its people.Studio portraits of princely rulers reflectthis preoccupation, as well as ethnographicstudies of native tribes. A suite of images

p o r t r a i t s f r o M i n d i a 1 8 5 0 s – 1 9 5 0 s

Anne O’Hehir

A

vAllABhácháRyA MAháRájAS by wiLLiaM J. JOhNSON frOM THE ORIENTAL RACES AND TRIBES, RESIDENTS AND vISITORS OF BOMBAy:

A SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS, wITH LETTER-PRESS DESCRIPTIONS, VOL 1: gUJarât, KUtch, aND Kâthiawâr, LONDON: w. J. JOhNSON,

bOLtON aND barNitt, 1863, aLbUMEN SiLVEr phOtOgraphS, LEttErprESS, NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia cOLLEctiON


included in the NGA display was probablyphotographed by the firm of Johnston &Hoffmannforapresentationalbumcompiledto commemorate the Diamond Jubilee ofQueenVictoriain1897.

HerMajesty’senthusiasmforandpatronageofphotographyiswellknown.Theimagesofthemaharajasfromthe19thcenturythroughtotheeveofIndependenceshowafascinatingmixofdressstyles:traditionalcostumewornwithpatentleathershoesprovidesoneobvious

example as do ensembles mademore complex by the imperativeofdisplayingtheordersandrobesofhonourbestowedbytheBritish.This ‘sartorial juggling’ (Tarlo1996:24)isinmanywaysapotentvisual reflectionof thesubtleandever-shifting adjustments thatthe Indian ruling class was ableto effect in response to changingpoliticalandculturalimperatives.

The maharajas were themselvesquick to see the potential usesthat photography could serve,adaptingthemediumtotheirowncultural requirements. Rulers ofJaipur, Travancore and Tripurawereparticularlyactiveaspatronsandpractitioners.Itisevidentthat‘for many of the ruling families,photography became somethingofafashionablepursuit’.(Falconer2001:31)

That photography rendereda highly coloured world inmonochrome had from itsbeginning been universally seen

as problematic. The importance of colourhas become a simplified cliché of India’sexoticotherness,andyetdespite this,colourhas considerable culturally specificmeaningwithinIndiansocietyaswellasbeingvaluedforitself–indicatingsocialandmaritalstatus,for example, and signifying the seasons andmajorfestivals(Kumar2008:38).Thisisalsoacountrywheretheatricalityandperformancepermeate every aspect of society. It is notsurprisingthenthatasphotographytookonanIndianaesthetic thesurfacebecameasite

for embellishment and invention, resultingin a vibrant style of hand-coloured imagerymade for a local clientele, including mostof the ruling families. Hand-colouring alsodevelopedinJapanutilisingtraditionalskills–yetincontrasttoIndiamuchofitwasmadeforthetouristtradeandendedupabroad.

The hand-coloured photograph in Indiais a site in which tensions between thecontemporary realities and traditions of thepast reside. Hand painting developed outof the courtly painting tradition, borrowingtechniques that had been used for centuriesto make miniature paintings. It is a potentsymbolofthewaysinwhichsittersachievedanalliancewiththemodernworld,choosingamediumthatsooftenimpliedthisassociationwhilealsoexpressinganallegiancetotimelessand indigenous customs as represented bypainting. Interestingly, the hand colouristsoften added more traditional aspects suchas turbansand jewellery toclientsgarbed inwestern-styleattire(Kumar2008:46)

OneofthetruehighlightsoftheNGAdisplayis the sensitively and exquisitely hand-painted(withwatercolour)doubleportraitbyGopinathDevare,reputedlythefirstIndiantobeawardedaFellowshipoftheRoyalSocietyof Photography. It depicts Prince YeshwantRao Holkar, the original purchaser of theBrancusi Birds now owned by the NationalGallery, and his sister Manorama Raje andwaspossiblymadejustbeforethePrinceleftforboardingschoolinEnglandaround1920.

As the court system broke down at the endof the 19th century, portraiture, in the pastavailable only to the elite, became muchmore widely available (Allana 2008: 25).

lAkShMi 2001 by pUShpaMaLa N aND cLarE arNi frOM thE SEriES THE NATIvE

TyPES: A SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS ILLuSTRATING THE SCENERy AND THE MODE OF

LIFE OF THE wOMEN OF SOuTH INDIA, 2001–2004, typE c cOLOUr phOtOgraphS,

NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia cOLLEctiON


Practitioners were found more widely inbazaarsandsmallstudios.Thedemocratisingintent of the medium, evident in the rangeof the sitters in the display, back up Bengaliwriter, Ardhishwar Ghatak’s 1904 reflectionthat:‘agoodoilpaintingcannotbehadforlessthanathousandoreventwothousandrupees.Photography gives us a far more accuratelikenessforahundred’(Pinney2009:100).

One of the remarkable aspects of these Indianphotographs is the importance of surface. Anabsence of the sense of the materiality of thesurfaceisanotablecharacteristicofphotographyas it developed in the West. It is particularly

trueinthehistoryofcolourphotography,whichis usually printed in a laboratory, leaving thephotographer little if any licence to play. Bycontrast in Indian hand-coloured photographs,the paint can be so opaque that the viewerstrugglestofindevidenceofthephotographatall.AdistinctlyIndianmanifestation,theRajasthanimanorathorphotographicdonorportrait,carriesthe ‘I was there-ness’ of photography into asacred experience of darshan (daily showingsand blessings) of Shrinathji, amanifestation ofKrishna. In these images the sacred world ofthe Shrinathji figure is significantly renderedin paint and photography is reserved for thetemporalworld.Sometimestheimageisnearly

allpaintwith justthefacesofthedonorsstuckon:thereis‘noappealtophotographicauthorityinreproducingthedivine’(Pinney2009:102).

The undeniable appeal of hand-colouring isreflected in the fact that the tradition runs inan unbroken line through to the present day.The recognition that, as it developed, it wasstylistically unique to India has earned it theattention of contemporary artists – such as theBangalore-based Pushpamala N., who hasengagedtraditionalpractitionerstocolourtwoofherseries.ShehasalsoworkedwiththeThakkerstudioinBombaythatsuppliedstudioglamourshotstoBollywoodmid-century.ThisdisplayattheNationalGallerycertainlymakesitapparentthat as the medium found and continues tofind itsplace in India,artistshave foundwaysto make it their own – often anarchically andinways that also reflect the complexity of themodernhistoryofthesubcontinent.

anne O’hehir is assistant curator of photography at

the National gallery of australia.

rEfErEncEsallana, r. 2008. ‘a bold fusion: realism and the artist in

photography’, The Alkazi Collection of Photography: Painted

photographs – Coloured portraiture in India. Mapin, ahmedabad.

falconer, J. 2001. India: pioneering photographers 1850-1900.

the british Library, London.

gordon, S. 2008. ‘the colonial project and the shifting gaze’,

Marg: A magazine of the arts 59(4): 40 – 53.

gutman, J.M. 1982. Through Indian eyes: 19th and 20th century

photography from India, Oxford University press: New york in

association with the international center for photography.

Kumar, p. 2008. ‘the evolving modern, 1850–1950: indian

costumes as seen through painted photographs’, The Alkazi

Collection of Photography: Painted photographs – Coloured

portraiture in India, Mapin, ahmedabad.

pinney, c. 2009. ‘centre and periphery: photography’s spatial

field’, Marg: A magazine of the arts 61(1): 98 – 103.

tarlo, E. 1996. Clothing matters: dress and identity in India, hurst

and company, London.

PRince yeShwAnT RAo holkAR And hiS SiSTeR MAnoRAMA

RAje c.1920, DEVarE & cO, gOpiNath DEVarE (phOtOgraphEr),

gELatiN SiLVEr phOtOgraph, watEr cOLOUr, OrigiNaL giLDED

fraME. NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia cOLLEctiON

MAnoRATh PoRTRAiT. FeMAle devoTeeS BeFoRe ShRinAThji, wiTh RAASlilA in The BAckgRound 1900, bhUraLaL MOtiLaL,

gELatiN SiLVEr phOtOgraph, watErcOLOUr, gOLD. NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia cOLLEctiON

MAnoRATh PoRTRAiT. A FAMily woRShiPPing on nAndoTSAv 1900, KhUbiraM aND gOpiLaL brOthErS, gELatiN SiLVEr

phOtOgraph, watErcOLOUr. NatiONaL gaLLEry Of aUStraLia cOLLEctiON


he National Museum of Cambodia(NMC) holds one of the most significant

collectionsof art in theworld.TheMuseum’ssubstantial collection of bronze and stoneAngkorian sculpture showcases the greatestachievementsofKhmercreativity.AmongthemostsignificantmasterpiecesisthemagnificentimageofVishnuAnantashayinfromtheWestMebon temple, which readers of the TAASAReviewwillrememberasthecoverimagefromtheSeptember2006issue(Feneley2006:18-19).ThiscelebratedimageofVishnuisamajorpartof a bronze figure thatwouldhavemeasurednearlysixmetres,oneof the largestSoutheastAsianbronzesevermade.

Using funds donated by the AustralianEmbassy in Cambodia and UNESCO, thedisplay of this image has undergone anexcitingrenovation.TheVishnunowappearsas if it were reinstalled in its sacred templesetting surrounded by an animated lotuspond. The renovation also incorporatessupplementary objects including goldjewellery and sandstone sculptures whichlinkthefamedsculpturetoitsoriginalcontextandrecentarchaeologicaldiscoveries.

Vishnuwas one of the principal Brahmanicdeities worshipped throughout the ancientKhmer lands. The representation of VishnuAnantashayin is frequently seen in Khmerart, especially on temple bas-reliefs anddecorative lintels. In 1936 a farmer livingin the Angkor region is said to have had adream in which the Buddha appeared tohim asking to be ‘released’ from the soil.He led theÉcoleFrançaised’Extrême-Orient(EFEO) conservator, Maurice Glaize tothe West Mebon where at the end of thecauseway,theyunearthednotaBuddha,buta magnificent statue of Vishnu. Followingits excavation it was brought to the NMC(then the Museé Albert Sarraut) and hasremained on permanent display ever since.The sculpture, among the NMC’s mostfamous, has toured the world appearing inexhibitionsofKhmerartintheUnitedStates,JapanandAustralia.

When the Vishnuwas cast sometime in themid11th century itwas installed at the endof thenarrow causewayof theWestMebontemple in the middle of a lotus pond. Thesymbolic importance of both the lotus andwater areubiquitous throughout thehistoryof the Khmer people and the incorporation

of these themes was critical to presentingan appropriate and authentic display of theVishnu in context. The lotus represents thepurity of the body, speech and mind. Thelife-cycle of its flower, paddy and rhizomeembodies the birth, florescence, deathand regeneration of all things. Deities areplaced on lotus seats, carry flowers in theirhands, and shrines have lotus foundations.Fundamental to lotus symbolism is itsconnection towater.Water ensures fertility,regeneration and the prosperity of thecommunity through the coming of therains. Khmer rulers almost always basedtheirauthorityonthemanagementofwater.WiththeassistanceoftheVisualisingAngkorProject (TomChandler/MonashUniversity)a ‘rippling’ pond filled with budding andblooming lotus is projected onto a screenfrombehindthesculptureprovidingvisitorswiththeimpressionthattheyareviewingtheVishnuinitsoriginalsetting.

Proving the most popular aspect of thenew display are 3D animations ofmedievalAngkor, also produced by the VisualisingAngkorProject.Drawinguponarchaeologicaland historical data, the animations depictwhat we know of temples, landscapes anddaily life at Angkor in the 13th century.Recent archaeological discoveries also relateto the West Mebon Vishnu and the watersystem of Angkor. Since the 1990s, French,Australian, and Cambodian teams haveconductedextensivearchaeologicalmappingand the display incorporates the resultingmap of Greater Angkor revealing a vast

settlement integrated by an elaborate watermanagementnetwork (seeEvans et al 2007).Akeyfeatureofthehydraulic infrastructurewas the enormous reservoir, the WesternBaray, and at the centre the West MebontempleandthegreatWestMebonVishnu.

The new display promises to attract bothKhmerandinternationalvisitorsandpromoteawareness,understandingandappreciationofCambodia’sheritage.Throughthesuccessofthisrenovation,andotherongoinginitiativeslike the first complete inventoryofholdingsinmore than half a century (the Leon LevyFoundation and Shelby White InventoryProject),expertconservationlaboratoriesanda dynamic temporary exhibitions program,theNMChopes to develop its facilities andbuildthecapacityofitsstaff.

Oun phalline was appointed Director of the

National Museum of cambodia in 2010. between

1996 – 2009 Mme Oun was Deputy Director of the

Museum. Martin polkinghorne holds a phD in art

history from the University of Sydney specialising

in Khmer art. in 2009 he undertook an Endeavour

post-doctoral fellowship under host institution

heritage watch, including a placement at the

National Museum of cambodia

rEfErEncEsEvans, D., pottier, c., fletcher, r., hensley, S., tapley, i., Milne, a.

and barbetti, M. 2007. “a comprehensive archaeological map of

the world’s largest pre-industrial settlement complex at angkor,

cambodia”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of

the united States of America. Vol. 104 no. 36, pp. 14277-14282.

feneley, M. 2006. “the west Mebon Vishnu”, in TAASA Review,

The Journal of the Asian ArtsSociety of Australia vol 15 (3).

T

i n t h E p u B l i c d o M a i n : a N E w D i S p L ay at t h E N at i O N a L M U S E U M O f c a M b O D i a

Oun Phalline and Martin PolkinghornethEwEstMEBonvishnu SUrrOUNDED by a prOJEct aNiMatED LOtUS pOND. DiDacticS Of rEcENt archaEOLOgicaL

DiScOVEriES fEatUrE thE ScULptUrE’S pOSitiON iN thE ‘hyDraULic city’. phOtO: chhay ViSOth


ehind the British East India Company’sphysicaltakeoverofIndiaduringthe1700s,

another encounter of equal significance wasoccurring,anencounterbetweencivilizations,between distinctive ways of thinking, seeingandbehaving.Thejuxtapositionwasprofoundand nowhere more so than in the area ofculture and the arts - particularly painting.The impact varied according to the situationthroughout the subcontinent. Some partswere initially less affected, others more sodepending on whether the British took overgovernment completely or ruled indirectlythroughsubordinateprinces.

In less affected territories, painting went onmuch as before.Artists continued producingpictures for maharajas depicting religionand courtly life in their accustomed opaquegouachemedium.Later in the secondhalfofthe 19th century theywere severely affectedasphotographsseducedpatronsandundercuttheartists’supportbase.As forpainterswhocateredtopilgrimsatsignificanttemples,theirclientelewaslargelyunaffectedbythechangeof masters; they flourished until late in the19thcentury,whenthecheapermassproductsofprintingpressestookawaytheircustomers.

Where the British ruled directly, the impactwasgreater.Artistslosttheirformerpatronsand perforce found new ones in Companyofficials. Inevitably the new patrons haddifferent tastes and needs. Many wantedvisual records of their life in India to sendhome to friends and family. Artists paintedEuropeanswith their horses and friends, inbungalows or looking over the countryside.Patrons also wanted pictures of the strange

exotic structures they were encountering,so painters took on the stuff of Europeanorientalist fantasy, buildings like the TajMahal,thepalacesoftheRedForts,emperors’tombs and other Mughal monuments. Suchsubjects, recorded in fine detailed precision,becamecommonplace inCompanypainting,agenreofitsown.

While thenewpatronswantedportrayalsofthebuiltenvironmentaroundthemtheywereless keen about the natural environment.There are relatively few landscape andtopographicalscenesfromCompanypainters.Thatmarket seems to have been largely thepreserve of touring British artists like theDaniell brothers whose drawings becamespectacularcolouredaquatintshighlydesiredinearly1800sLondon.

What absorbed much of the attention ofCompanyartistscamefromtheirrecruitmentintowhatwas essentially the documentationproject of the Raj. Artists were deployed todepict people, castes, religions, customs,occupations and festivals under British rule.Many thousands of such paintings wereproduced inwhich people going about theirdailyactivitiesbecamestereotypes–thereweretokenBrahmans,warriors,widows,tradersandso on. Given the requirement to characterisepeople into types, painters used attributesconsidereddistinctive to specificgroups. Justas deities in traditional iconography wereidentified by unique attributes, Shiva by histridentforinstance,orVishnubyhisdiscus,sotooweredifferent typesof Indians identifiedby distinguishing markers. Brahmans hadtonsured heads, shoemakers specific tools,

soldiers uniforms, snake charmers theircharacteristic flutes and so on. Costumes,weapons, headgear, a worker’s tools, suchitemsenabledhumansubjectstobecodedintocategories,anddeniedindividuality.

Local artists recorded for the new rulersknowledge about who and what they ruled:art became the handmaiden for imperialdocumentation-anddomination.Intheprocessthe look of the image itself changed as artistsadopted transparent watercolours rather thanthe opaque paints favoured by court artists.The composition of pictures also changed:because figures and social groups were mostimportanttopatrons,theybecamecentralinthecomposition,renderingcontext less important.Backgrounds were downplayed and evenlargelydisappearedfromCompanypaintings.

Theinteractionbetweentheforeignrulerandthelocalartistthusledartiststoreproducetheworld around them through the foreigner’sgaze, using their patrons’ preferred mediaand viewpoints. Yet subversively, as welook at the painting of people at work andin action, we see the intended stereotypedimages differently. The focus on ordinarypeople means that, paradoxically, we get asenseof time,placeand the individualityofthosedepictedinthepaintings,probablynotwhattheirpatronshadintended.

A smallwatercolour fromKutch inwesternIndia of a cavalry soldier makes the point.There isnobackground.Thetokenshadows

c u l t u r a l E n c o u n t E r s : t h E r E v E r s E g a z E o f k u t c h pa i n t i n g

Jim Masselos

B

horsEandridEr, KUtch c1840, cOLOUr ON papEr,

14.5 x 18.5 cM. pOrtVaLE cOLLEctiON

tidalEstuarY, KUtch c1800, gOUachE ON papEr, 48 x 24.5 cM. pOrtVaLE cOLLEctiON


ofthehorseandrideronthegroundanchorthe composition, but do not identify orcontextualisethecentralfigure.Thecostumeof the rider, the red scabbard of his sword,and the long rifle differentiate him as awarrior of worth. What lifts the paintingabove its not especially expert rendering ofthe horse is the warrior’s craggy face. Hereis an individual,distinctive inhisownrightand full of grizzled character, not at all thestereotypedwarrior.

Other paintings created in Kutch from thesecond half of the 1700s directly confrontedthe pervasive Company gaze. Theirartists approached the cultural encountershappeningonthesubcontinentfromanotherangle,andpresentanalternategaze,areverseview that ensures their pictures are quiteunlikeanyproducedelsewhereinIndia.Theyremain characteristically Indian, whateverthesubjectmatterorinfluence.ThisgroupofKutchpaintingshasbeenlittlestudied:thereisasinglemonograph,A Place Apart. Painting in Kutch, 1720-1820, from B.N. Goswamyand A.L. Dallapiccola (1983) and three orso articles by them. Other art historianshaveneglected theKutchpaintings, ashave

museum collections, though not privatecollectors from one of whom the paintingsdiscussedherecome.

The Kutch paintings follow similar formatsand treatments, and often use distinctiveEuropean subject matter though they couldnever have been created in Europe. Theyare all relatively large, horizontal imagespaintedpredominantlyintheopaquecoloursof the traditional miniature on reinforcedpaper,eachframedwithstrongblackpaintedborders. They remain within the praxis ofcourtpaintingsintheirmediumthoughtheydifferinsubjectmatterandtreatment.

GoswamyandDallapiccola trace theoriginsof thestyle towoodcutprints fromEnglandor Europe that were brought to Kutchsometime in the second half of the 18thcentury, evidenced by surviving examplesin Kutch collections. The prints, known asperspective views or vue perspectifs, were apopularnoveltyonthecontinentatthetime.They are characterised by their rigid useof Renaissance perspective, the perspectiveof the vanishing point that was applied tobuildings, streetscapes and even landscapes.

Small figures break the formality of thecompositions, add human interest to thesceneandprovideasenseofscale,asinviewsofvariouscityscapesandcountrymansions.

Through such prints, Kutch artists wereintroduced to novel subject matter andcompositional approaches. At first theycopied the foreign prints literally and thensetout to imitate theiroverall look. In somecases they evenpainted in the cross linesoftheoriginalprint,as inthepaintingofshipsaround an estuary. The subjectmatter itselfis rare in Indianpainting – there are hardlyany seascapes apart from some Mughalrepresentations, like that of Noah on hisshipescapingthefloods.TheKutchseascapehasnodramaticcentralsubjectthoughthereis a sophisticated use of perspective. Herethe tide is out, leaving small country craftstranded,asailorswimsinapoolleftbytheretreating waters, others fish as do variouskinds of birds, cranes and other waders. Inthedistanceoutatseaisarowofoceangoingvessels, presumably waiting for the tide sothey can unload or perhaps load cargo – areminder ofKutch’smaritime role and howit has for centuries been part of the main

ExplosiononBoat, KUtch c1800, gOUachE ON papEr, 36.5 x 27 cM. pOrtVaLE cOLLEctiON


trading routes in the Indian Ocean and theArabianSea.

Otherpaintings recorddistant events.Thereis one of an army besieging a formidableisland fort. Just where this is remainsuncertain: itmaybeoneofthemanycoastalforts south of Bombay constructed by localrulers. The redcoats worn by some soldierssuggest the attackers may be British. Giventhat other figures appear to have pigtailsand to be therefore Chinese, the artist mayrather bepresenting an imaginedversionofforeigners attacking a fort, peopled by hisstereotypedviewofwhatconstitutesforeignappearance.Theartist’sdepictionofthegunsandcannonreinforcestheimaginativenatureofthispicture.

A painting of an explosion is equallyperplexing. Beside a stream flowing into alakeisaMughalorRajasthanistylegatewayand fort walls with a township, in complexperspective, behind them and beside thelake.Therearetwoglorioustreesandidyllicgardens that serve as a colourful balance tothe catastrophe that is the picture’s subject.Flames and smoke rise from an explosionon a boat full of bales of cargo. Figuresare shown hurled into the air, along witha large pot, the sort boats of the day usedto store water. While the painting drawson customary elements of Indian painting,particularly in the delineation of the trees,the fort and town, the artist again seemsto have illustrated something unfamiliar tohim. Figures in the painting are strange -

many seem to be Chinese sporting pigtails.Needing to locate the images somewheredistant, the artist has probably again usedavailablepictorialnotionsoftheexotic.

Ambiguity isalso there in the imageofwhatis probably St Pauls in London. Presumablyderived from a foreign print, the paintingretainstheuseofhatchinglines,buttheseareused to artistic effect todefine thoseparts ofthe building in shadow. The use of figuresaboutthebuildingreinforcesasenseofitssizeandproportionsbutifthefiguresareintendedtoprovide localcolourtheymiss their target.Thenotable seatedunderanoriental lookingumbrella in frontof theCathedral looksas ifheisholdingcourtinsomedistantplacewhilesomeofthefiguresaroundhimseemtobeinChinese costume – they are not particularlyEuropeanindressorpose.

Thesamedifficultyindepictingthealienanddifferent is evident in theway theartisthasrenderedthestatuesontopof thecathedral.Hewouldseemtohavehadnoideaofwhatastatuewaslike,muchlessagroupofthemspread along a rooftop. Nor was he anymore successful depicting the finials of thespires. With its large looming cloud abovethe building, a throwback not to Europeanbut to Indian precedents, the painting as awholemanagestouniteitsdisparateelementsandconveyafreshnessthatgoesbeyondanysuggestionofquaintnessandnaivety.

As a group, such Kutch paintings show howthestyleofperspective viewsprintswascopiedusing manual painting techniques, absorbingalien mechanical reproduction approachesintoexistingartistictraditions.Thatthesubjectmatter explored in thesepaintingswasnot ofthekindnormallyfeaturedincourtlypaintingunderscores the curiosity of the artists forwhatwasoutsidetheirKutchiworld,andtheirwillingnesstodepictitintheirpaintings.Thereisasenseofadventureintheirenterprise.WhileEurope was increasingly viewing Asia as anorientalist construct during the 18th century,andwas developing stereotypes of its peopleandplaces,theseartistsinKutchitwouldseemwere doing something similar but in reverse,imaginingandreproducingEuropewithintheirIndianframeworkofattitudes,usingwhatevermodelswere at hand. In their turn theywereoccidentalising Europe, providing an Indianviewoftheforeignanddifferent.

Jim Masselos is honorary reader, School of

philosophical and historical inquiry, University of

Sydney. his most recent books are The City in Action.

Bombay Struggles for Power, 2007 and (with Naresh

fernandes), Bombay Then: Mumbai Now, 2009.

attackonfort, KUtch c1800, gOUachE ON papEr, 41 x 30 cM. pOrtVaLE cOLLEctiON

st.paul’scathEdral, KUtch c1800, gOUachE ON papEr, 37 x 25 cM. pOrtVaLE cOLLEctiON


B o o k r E v i E w: E t h N i c J E w E L L E r y a N D a D O r N M E N t

Janet Mansfield

EthnicJEwEllErYandadornMEnt

australia•oceania•asia•africa

by truus Daalder

Ethnic art press and Macmillan, 2009

photographs by Jeremy Daalder

rrp a$155.00 including postage

With the stated aim of promoting publicappreciation of ethnic jewellery, TruusDaalder provides much more to the readerthrough her knowledge of the spiritualvaluesoftribalpeople,alllearntthroughthestudyofobjects.Herbook, ‘Ethnic Jewelleryand Adornment’, covering the regions ofAustralia, Oceania, Asia and Africa, givesus anunderstandingof cultures, beliefs andritualsthroughtheobjectswornandtreasuredbyethnicgroupsfromthesecountries.

Welearnwhatisimportanttolifeandlivingfor people we cannot possibly meet, welearn about the rituals of warfare, aboutbirth and marriage taboos and the deathrites of tribal people whose communitiesrespect and demand strict rules of conduct.Wearewitnesstobeautifulobjects,superblypresented, objects made by people in atraditionalwaytoprotectthemselvesagainstmisfortune and natural disasters, to ensurethe continuity of the family and to triumphovertheirenemies.

Truus Daalder’s father, a noted Dutchcollector,startedTruusontheroadtolookingat the role of art and culture in objectsaround her. It was in Australia where shefirst started to collect ethnic jewellery. Shegives us a definition of ‘ethnic’ as referringto work made in a specific regional areathat is relevant and traditional to that area.She qualifies ‘jewellery’ as being associatedwith precious metals and valuable stones,whereas ‘adornment’ relates more to itemsmade of materials such as feathers, fibre,shells,andsoon.Inthisbookwearetreated

tobothcategoriesandofthehighestandmoststimulatingquality.

As a potter ofmany years andwith a smallcollection of ethnic jewellery and clothing, Ihavealwaysbeeninterested,likemostpotters,inmark-making,designandpattern,andwhatwecanlearnthroughtheformsanddecorationthat adorn pots from ancient times or ethnictraditions. I am fascinated by the similaritiesthat exist inwork from diverse regions and,inparticular,thedifferencesthatcanbetracedfromoneregiontoanotherperhapsaspeoplemigrate, or as objects are carried from oneplace to another. Or is it that human needsand ceremonies are more universal and thedifferencesrelatetolocallyavailablematerialsorotherindividualexperiences?

TruusDaalderexplorestheseandmanyotherpossibilities in her book. The craftsmanshipshownbythemakersoftheobjectsdepictedin the Daalder collection, and 80 percent ofthisbookismadeupofthefamilycollection,isexemplary.Flawlessattentiontodetailandmeticulous fashioning can be seen in everypiece and all are objects of creative art. AnAboriginal work, a man’s ceremonial headornamentmadeofsulphur-colouredcockatoofeathers,woodandbeeswaxisaninspiringly

beautiful piece, as is the silver, coral andturquoise headdress for a woman in India.Ormy favourite, the heavy neckpiece of 13silverrodsfromSouthwestChina.Everypageoftext is filledwiththeresearchundertakenbyTruusDaalderandtoldasanenthusiastic,dedicated and personal discovery she hasmade. All photographs depict objects ofawe-inspiring beauty, some that must havetakenmonthsoryearstoassemblebynimblefingersandasureeyeforcolouranddesign.

Thisbookisa familyaffair.Truuswrotethetext, son Jeremy took the photographs andhusbandJoostistheeditorandpromoter.Hewill tellyou that thebookwascompiled forloveof thesubject.That lovecomesthroughin every aspect of the book’s production. Itis a collector’s item in itself. An extensivebibliography,muchof itpartof theresearchundertaken for ‘Ethnic Jewellery andAdornment’,showstheattentiongiventothesubjectamongacademicsandcollectors.Icanrecommendthisbooktoeveryoneinterestedinfineart,craftsandbeautifulobjects.

Janet Mansfield is a ceramic artist, author and

president of the international academy of ceramics,

geneva, Switzerland. She lives in gulgong NSw.

Man’scErEMonialhEadornaMEnt, KatJi pEOpLE, NOrthErN tErritOry, aUStraLia, EarLy 20th cENtUry. 27 x 25 cM.

cOcKatOO pLUMES, bEESwax, wOODEN hairpiN. SOUth aUStraLiaN MUSEUM, aDELaiDE. phOtO: JErEMy DaaLDEr


B a t i k o f J a v a : p o E t i c s a n d p o l i t i c s

c a l o u n d r a r E g i o n a l a r t g a l l E r Y t o u r i n g E x h i B i t i o n

Maria Wronska-Friend

he batik fabrics of Java represent thepeak of achievement in the art of wax-

resist dyeing and belong to the greatesttextile traditionsofAsia.The significanceofthesetextileswasrecognisedbyUNESCOinOctober 2009 when Javanese batik was thefirst group of Asian textiles to be inscribedon the list of Intangible Cultural Heritageof Humanity. To celebrate this event, theCaloundra Regional Art Gallery on theSunshine Coast decided to organise anexhibition Batik of Java: Poetics and Politicswhich presents two Queensland collectionsof Indonesian textiles and paintings: batiktextiles from the north coast of Java and aseries of recent paintings by the Indonesianartist Dadang Christanto entitled Batik has been Burnt.

The first collection, available to the generalpublicduetothegenerosityofitsowners,twoSunshineCoastcollectorsandartconnoisseurs- Greg Roberts and Ian Reed, presentsmorethan 20 outstanding batiks illustrating thediversity of cultural and artistic traditionsof the north coast of Java, an area knownas Pasisir. In Dadang Christanto’s paintings,batik textiles have been presented indirectly,as fragments of a distorted past –memoriesoftragiceventswhichaffectedhishomeareaduring the 1965-1966 political upheavals,when tens of thousands of people lost theirlives.Bypresentingthesetwo,sodifferentyetindirectly connected groups of artworks, theexhibitionisabletogeneratediverserealmsofexperienceandemotion.The firstone resultsfromanencounterwith theaestheticand thesymbolicaswellasthetechnicalachievementsrepresented in the best examples of Pasisirbatiks. In the second one, violence and anoverwhelmingfeelingof lossareexperiencedasuniversalhumansuffering.

ItcomesasasurprisetofindthatforDadangChristanto, learning the meaning of batikdesignswashis first art experience.Dadangwas born in 1957 in a village near Tegal incentral Java. His parents used to operatea small shop selling batik fabrics and as achild, he frequently witnessed his motherdiscussing various batik designs with hercustomers. “Given this experience, batikhasalso shaped my artistic journey”, states theartist. Then, in 1965 when he was eightyears old,during thepolitical turmoilwhenhis father was taken away and never seenagain, the family’shousewasburneddown,

including the extensive collection of batiks.Hismothersurvivedwithfiveyoungchildrento look after. The artist decided to dedicateto his mother the series of paintings Batik has Been Burnt, admiring her strength inovercoming these obstacles. The paintingshavebeenincludedinthisexhibitioncourtesyoftheJanMentonGalleryinBrisbane.

DadangChristanto,oneofthemostrecognisedIndonesian artists, has since 1999 been aresidentofAustraliaandiscurrentlyAdjunctProfessor at Griffiths University. He is bestknown for his installations, many of whichare monumental works, however his two-dimensionalworks and art performance areofequalsubstance.Inthepast,heoccasionallyincludedbatik fabricsasacomponentofhisinstallations,butthisisthefirsttimethathiswork directly refers to these textiles. FromJavanese batik he learned of the need forpatience, concentration and focus in orderto complete the work – personal qualities

whichbringtoperfectiontheartofdrawingwithwax,butwhichareequallyvital in thesuccessfulaccomplishmentofallother typesoftasks.

These qualities are clearly demonstrated inthePasisirbatiksfromthecollectionofGregRobertsand IanReed.The textiles representthe highest achievement of Javanese batikfrom the end of the 19th century, stressingthe diversity of regional styles as well asethnicpreferencesforparticulartextiles.Thecollection also contains the best examplesfromworkshopsstilloperatinginthispartoftheisland.

ThehighlightsareagroupofbatiksfromthetownofLasem,made in theendof the19thand early 20th century, featuring the deepred colour obtained from the natural dyemengkudu – a colour of such intensity thatit cannot, in spite of numerous efforts, bereplicatedwith syntheticdyes.The secret of

T

skirtclothkainpanJang, cirEbON, 1940 – 1950S,

haND-DrawN DESigN (batiK tULiS), cOttON, SyNthEtic DyES.

grEg rObErtS & iaN rEED cOLLEctiON

skirtclothkainpanJang,LaSEM, EarLy 20th cENtUry,

haND-DrawN DESigN (batiK tULiS), cOttON, NatUraL DyES.

grEg rObErtS & iaN rEED cOLLEctiON


thisuniquehueofredcolourmightperhapsbeattributedtothehighsalinityandtheironcontentofthelocalwater.

ThecollectionalsocontainsexcellentexamplesoffloralsarongsmadeatPekalongan,whichusedtobeworninthelate19thcenturyandfirst half of the 20th century by Eurasianwomen of European and Javanese descent,as well as by Chinese residents of Java.Batik Hokokai, made in one of the Chineseworkshops at Pekalongan is of exceptionalquality, representing an artistic style thatdominatedPasisirbatikduring the Japaneseoccupation (1942-1945). As cotton clothwasinshort supplyduring thewar, thepatternsofthistypeofbatiksareextremelydenseandcomplex,usuallypositionedin twodiagonalfieldsso that theskirtcouldbeworn in twoways,eachtimefeaturingdifferentdesigns.

The pinnacle of Javanese skills in the use ofnaturaldyes isrepresentedbybatikfromthegroup tiga negeri (‘three countries’). Its nameindicates that the fabric was dyed in threedifferenttowns,eachofthembeingfamousforproductionofaparticulartypeofcolourwithnaturaldyes.Forexample, followingthe firstdyeinginLaseminredcolour,thefabriccouldhave been sent toKudus to be dyed in blueandthentoSurakartatobedyedinbrown.Themulti-layereddesignsofthesefabricsillustratethecomplexprocessoftheirproduction.

Thecollectionrepresentsaswellthecontinuityof thebatik traditions in thePasisir area andtherangeofhighqualitycontemporaryfabrics

producedthere.TheOeySoeTjoenworkshopatKedungwuninearPekalongan, establishedat the end of the 19th century, is probablythe lastplace inPasisir to continue the finesttradition ofChinese batik on Java. The floralsarongsof soft,pastel coloursare famous fortheir precise, controlled design, where notevenonedropofwaxislefttochance.

TheportofCirebon,whichforcenturieshasbeenengaged in maritime trade with China, Indiaand the Middle East, developed a distinctivetypeofbatik,whosestylemirrorsthediversityof cultural traditions that shaped this area.Old Cirebon designs have been successfullyrevived by two batikworkshops: BatikMadiland BatikMasina. In the former, in 2008, thecollectors commissioned batik cloth featuring12colours.Ittookexactlyoneyeartoproducethisflawlesslyexecutedsarong,decoratedwithbright summer flowers and butterflies whichsymbolisethehighseasonoflife.

The leitmotif of Cirebon art is the dramaticmegamendung (‘drifting cloud’) designwhich on some batiks have been elevatedto paramount position. According to localtradition, the design was introduced by agroupofChinesecraftsmenwhoaccompanieda daughter of the Ming emperor when shearrived at Cirebon to marry the local ruler.ThesamedesignappearsseveraltimesinthepaintingsofDadangChristanto, tomarktheChineseancestryofhisfamily.

The exhibition aims to establish a dialoguebetween the textiles and paintings, as

well as between the present and memory,achievementand loss. Itencouragesviewerstoexploreemotionsandexperiencesresultingfrom this encounter with two groups ofartworks, each with their own symbolicand socialmeanings.While the collectionofPasisir batiks provides an insight into oneofthegreatesttextiletraditionsoftheworld,DadangChristanto’sseriesofpaintingsreferto his deep, personal experience of loss andgrief – emotions that can also be readilyunderstoodatauniversallevel.

Maria wronska-friend is an anthropologist and

museum curator specialising in textiles and costumes

of Southeast asia. She is an adjunct Senior Lecturer

at James cook University in cairns and has curated

several exhibitions promoting asian art. Batik of

Java: Poetics and Politics is her latest project.

The exhibition ‘Batik of Java: Poetics and Politics’, organised by the Caloundra Regional Art Gallery, will be presented at Caloundra between 10 July and 14 August 2010. In the following months it will travel to Artspace Mackay, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery at Townsville, Dogwood Crossing at Miles and Noosa Regional Gallery. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue.

BatikhasBEEnBurnt#7, DaDaNg chriStaNtO 2008, acryLic ON bELgiUM LiNEN, 137.0 x 167.0 cM, priVatE cOLLEctiON


he word came through. I was on theroad. A Uma’ Jalan Kenyah leader

aboveMuaraAncalong, fourdays chuggingupriver from Samarinda in KalimantanTimur had been trying to sell a couple of 6metre long belawing poles without success.HeapproachedsomeoneIknew,whoaskedmeifIwasinterested.Irememberedanearlyphotograph of a similar pole being erectedin the Apo Kayan. It signalled that if youweretoerectoneinAustralia,avoidaunionworkforceandoccupationalhealthandsafetyinspectors. I telephoned my younger son,explainedwhatwasonofferandaskedifwewould have difficulty getting it round theback.‘Noworries!’hesaid.

Traditionally every Kenyah longhouse hada belawing pole. The pole was the terrestrialdomain of the supreme god Bali Akang. Itwas always crowned by a carved figure of awarrior.Thepoleplayedacentralpartinmamatceremoniestocelebrateheadstakenandtorankboys and men as warriors. Various sacrificesmade at the pole propitiated Bali Akang tostrengthenmalesoulsinthecommunity.

We decided that the best port from whichto ship the pieces would be Kuching, inSarawak, Malaysia. Shipment would bedirect to Melbourne and fumigation therewas recognizedbyAQIS.Weagreedapricefor the poles and asked for them to be dugout so itwasclear theywerenot stolenandwrittentestimonyprovidedthatwewerebone fidebuyers.

Diggingthemoutwassimple.GettingthemononeoftheriverferriesthatpliedatradebetweenSamarindaandMuaraAncalongrequiredtheferryowner tobringhisboat furtherupriverfromMuaraAncalong.Fortunately,therewasabanktowhichtheboatcouldgetclose.Thebelawing had been transported to the bank,rolled on a succession of logs,with a coupleofmenrunningtheejectedloguptothefronttomaintain a continuous ‘belt’. The belawingwerecarvedfromwhatthetimbertradecalls‘sinkers’,awoodwhichissodensethatitsinksinwater.Carewasnecessary.Twoteams,onearmedwithrattanropesandrestraining,andthe other pushing, rolled the poles onto theroofoftheferry.

WearrivedinSamarindaaroundfouro’clockoneafternoonhavingleftMuaraAncalongatdawn.Innotimewehadalargelabourforce

to roll the poles off the ferry and onto thedock.We started looking for a truck ownertotransportthemtoKuching.SuchajourneywasbeyondtheimaginationofallbutaBugisownerof themostdecrepit truck in the linewaitingforwork.Hehadneverbeenfurtherthan50kilometresfromSamarinda.WeaskedforafixedpricetoKuching.Toassisthim,weexplainedwhereKuchingwas–2,500ormorekilometresaway.Hequotedafigurethatwecalculated would get us three quarters ofthe way there. We haggled and settled fora lower figure. The truckwent down to thedockwhereforkliftsplacedthepolesonthetray. The carved figures stretched beyondthetailgateandhadawonderfulviewofthepassingscenery.

We set off. The journey was constantlyinterruptedbypolicerequiringevidencethatthe poles had not been stolen. A thousandkilometresintothejourneyandafterrepeatedpunctures,weagreedtostandtheownerasetofnewtyres.Abouthalfway,thetruckownerhadworkedout that this tripwasnotgoingto be profitable and, as we had expected,wanted to renegotiate contract terms. Wemadeitworthwhileforhimtocontinue.TwohundredkilometresfromtheSarawakborder,thetruckenginegaveuptheghost.Tenhourslaterwewereonthemoveagain,somewhatpoorer for the experience, but with a muchbetterdieselengineinthetruck.Threeweekslaterthepoleswereonthehighseas.

In Australia, our customs’ agents agreed toput the boxed poles on a truck with liftingequipment. We organised a team of strongathletes, ropes and piano dollies to get thepoles from the truck into our suburbandriveway. No truck arrived. The truck senttothedockswastooshortforthepoles.Theywould be delivered the following day. Wetoldtheagentsthatwewouldhavetheteamonthe followingday,butnotafter that.Thetruck on the following day was longer butstillnotlongenoughandwewaitedinvain.Itoldtheagentsthatdeliverywouldhavetoinclude getting the poles off the truck andintoourdriveway.

The following day, our door bell rang. Atruckiesaidhehadtwopolestodeliveranddid I know how heavy they were - he hadweighedthemat650kiloseach.Iaskedhimifhehadliftinggear.Hesaid,‘no’.Iaskedhimhowmanyhelpershehad.Hereplied,‘none’.MywifeandIwerealoneathome…

The truckie, a giant of aman, said he had anumberofotherdeliveriestodo;sohewantedto get on his way as quickly as possible. Iexplained I would give my son a call. Heremindedmeoftheweightofeachcrate.Itoldhim these guys were all ex-AFL footballersand were used to bench-pressing 120 kilos.The truckie looked sheepish but relieved,admittingthathecouldonlymanage110.

T

c o l l E c t o r ’ s c h o i c E : a pa i r O f K E N ya h b E L a w i N g p O L E S f r O M b O r N E O

Michael HeppellErEctingaBElawingpolEinthEapo-kaYan, 1928 frOM tiLLEMa, h.f., apO-KaJaN – EEN fiLMrEiS

Naar EN DOOr cENtraaL – bOrNEO, VaN MUNStEr'S UitgEVErS-MaatSchappiJ, aMStErDaM, p.207


I phonedmy son.He saidhewouldhave a‘team’ roundwithin thehour. I calledTony,aCanadian,atKennards.Hehadparticipatedinmovinganumberoflighterpoles.Iaskedif he could get some dollies, straps and aroustaboutuptoourhouseandherepliedhewasontheway.

An hour later we were underway andfollowed the formula for getting the polesontotheroofoftheferry.Withthefirstpolesafely parked on the street, we realised wecould not get the second off the same wayas itwould probably go through our picketfence. We unpacked the second one fromits crate, piled the two crates on each otherandletthesecondonedownontothecrates,whichcushioneditsfall.Thetruckie,agreatbloke,badeusfarewell.

It then seemed a simple matter for theroustabout to lift each pole high enough toget a dollie under it,manoeuvring them outintothestreet(potentiallytotheannoyanceofdriverswhoused thestreetasa rat run)andthenpushing themintoourdriveway. Ithadtaken 2½hours and the teamwasworried itmightbemissedfromitsworkplace.Thepoleswereleftonthepavementoutsideourhouse.

The team returned that evening and it tookjustunderanhour toget the twopoles intothe driveway where they languished. Theproblemwith the block of land they had tonegotiate was that it is ‘L’ shaped. There isa 0.8 metre wide pathway down the housewindingpastvariousobstructions.Thatrunsintoa3.8metrepavedareawherethe6metrelong poles would have to be manoeuvred

to pass under a pergola and up some stepsbeforeturningintothe‘L’.Thepolesdidnotmoveforalongtime.Neighbourswonderedaboutourgoodsense.

Wegotacranehirecompanytoadvise.Yes,they could do it but it would require a 200tonne crane truck with a 50 metre arm. Itwould cost $10,000. We would have to getthe electricity company to cut the electricityoff for thewhole street and take the powerlinedownsothearmwouldbeabletoreachacrossourneighbour’sgarden.Telstrawouldalso have to be contacted. No neighbourregardedthisasasolutiontoourproblem.

We got a conveyor belt company to advise.Yes,theythoughttheycoulddoit.Anumberofbeltswouldsnakeitswaythroughourblockand get the poles towherewewanted themat a prohibitive cost. The company thoughtthat therewas a high risk that theweight ofthepoleswouldwreckthebeltandtolduswewouldhavetopayforanydamage.

Weapproachedourstategallerytoseeiftheywould take the poles. They had a look butthatwas thesumof their interest. Ironwooddoesnotburnallthatwell.Soitseemedthatthepoleswouldbeprostrateforgood.

Meanwhile the team constantly discussedthe poles because, for them, they wereunfinished business. Eighteen months later,they reckoned they had an answer. On averywetday, theyput theplan into action.Aturferwasaddedtotheroustabout,dolliesandstrapsaswereplywoodsheetstostopthedolliessinkingintothegrass.

The first polewaspusheddown the side ofthe house on the dollies and manoeuvredthrough the 3.8 metre paved area when aproblememerged.Theslopeofthestepswassuch thatat theirgreatestangle, theheadofthefigureonthetopofthepolewouldscrapealong the ground and probably be knockedoff.Theproblemwasresolvedby layingtheplywoodsheetsdown the steppedpathway.Somecarjackswerefoundandjackedupthelowestsheet.Thepolewaspositionedonthesheetsandwinchedtoapointatwhichtherewasnodangertothefigure.Itwasthenliftedbackontothedollies.

The pole was then pushed to the 1.2 metreholethathadbeendugforit.Theroustaboutraisedthepoleasfarasitcouldgo-about4metres-sufficientforittodropintothehole.However,itsankintotheholeatanangleandwould not budge. One person took winchand rope into one neighbour’s garden. Twotookaropeintoanotherneighbour’sgarden.Anotherhelda rope inouryard.Twomoreworkedonwedgingrailwaysleepersagainstthe lean. The seventh managed the task ofgettingthepolevertical.Eventually thepolewas cajoled into an upright position. It hadtaken7hours.Thesecondjoinedthefirstthefollowingday.

ImetupwithmycontactinBorneoacoupleofmonthslater.Itoldhimthepoleswerein.Ilaughinglysuggestedwemightlookforan18metreone in theApoKayan like theonein the old photograph. He went absolutelyashen.‘Neveragain’,hewhispered.

Dr Michael heppell is an anthropologist specialising

on borneo cultures. his 2005 publication, Iban

Art: sexual preference and severed heads, was

co-published by Kit, amsterdam and c. zwartenkot

art books, Leiden.

iNStaLLiNg thE BELAwING pOLES frOM a KENyah LONghOUSE. phOtO: MichaEL hEppELL

thE bELawiNg pOLES rELOcatED tO SUbUrbia.

phOtO: MichaEL hEppELL


iln sites and ceramics museums in thesouthernChineseprovincesofFujianand

JiangxiwerethefocusoftheApril2010studytourundertakenbymembersoftheSoutheastAsian Ceramics Society (SEACS). ImperialandfolkkilnsandtheirproductswereviewedinceramicsmanufacturingdistrictsincludinglegendaryDehuaandJingdezhen.Amongthemany highlights of the trip was the chanceto observe an operational wood-fired kilnbeingloadedwithreadytofireteapotsmadeon-site.Themanufacturing,glazingandkilnstackingtechniquesusedinmassproductionwereobservedtherefirsthand.

Singapore based SEACS celebrated its 40thanniversary in 2009 and has an admirablerecordofpromotingthestudyofceramicsbymeans of lectures and seminars, exhibitions,publications and study tours such as ours.Inaugurated in 1999, the annual WilliamWilletts Lecture, named in honour of thefounding president, has been delivered bya succession of eminent scholars. This tourcomplemented the Society’s main objectiveof furthering the study of Southeast Asianmanufactured ceramics, by observing theChinese technology and ceramic modelsthat appear to have been adopted and laterdevelopedbySEAcountries.AdditionallytheevolutionofwaresthatwerepopularexportstoSoutheastAsiasuchasgreenware,qingbaiandunderglazeblueandwhitewasevident.

Our study tour, led by Chen Jiazi, curator ofthe National University of Singapore (NUS)Museum, commenced in coastal Xiamen,formerly Amoy on ancient trade maps. Theview fromourhotelover thebustlingnarrowstraittoGulangyuIslandwithits16mtallstatueof local hero, Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), apirate, trader andMing loyalist was a salientreminderoftherichmaritimehistoryofChina’ssoutheastcoast.ThiswasreinforcedbyavisittotheXiamenOverseasChineseMuseum.Builtin the style of a palace, the displays in itsthreeexhibitionhallsconveydetailedstoriesofpioneeringChinesemigrants. The inextricablehistories of migration, trade, commerce andImperialinfluencearebroughttolife.

A two hour bus trip took us to the JinjiangMuseum in Qingyang with its stylisedmaritime-themed façade. Comprehensivedisplays of export wares covering theTang to Qing dynasties (618 -1912) gaveus a broad perspective on the evolution of

types and styles. Following this we viewedthe Jingjiaoyishan kiln site, which featuresfour kilns from late Southern Song to earlyYuandynasties(c.1200-1368).Theexcavatedkilns are well covered by a protective roof.Despite fences, the abundant shards in-situ were tantalisingly close for impromptuarchaeological analyses (‘so near and yetso far’), but instead we adjourned to themuseum gallery to view intact pots of thecizaowaresforwhichthekilnsarefamous.

Next day we visited the comprehensiveQuanzhouMaritimeMuseum,whichdisplaysChineseexportceramics,mapsoftraderoutestoSEAandbeyond,andmodelsoftheshipsused on the ‘Maritime Silk Route’, as it hasbecomeknown.Themuseumdisplaysagainhighlighted the importance of shipping andtheintegralroleofChineseceramicsintrade.The vibrant, cosmopolitan and generallytolerant nature of Quanzhou as a majortradingportisdemonstratedbytheQingjingmosquedatingfromtheYuandynasty(1279-1368). Islam was one of the many religionspracticedbyitsforeignresidents.

Our last and very important stop in thisprovincewastherenownedceramicsdistrictof Dehua, often called the porcelain capitalof Fujian. From the Song Dynasty (960-1279) onward, Dehua ceramics, particularlywhitewares and qingbai type wares wereexported to many regions, including SEA.Its highest quality whitewares later becameknown as ‘blanc de Chine’ in theWest.WevisitedthesignificantQudougongkilnontheslopeofMountPozhai,whichwasexcavatedin 1976 to reveal utilitarian items, includingstem cups, covered boxes, vases and bowls

alltypicaloftheceramicsexportedduringthecommerciallyproactiveYuanDynastywhichcustomisedceramicsfortargetmarkets.Thislong or dragon kiln is 57 metres long andis comprised of 17 firing chambers, each ofwhichwasindividuallycontrolled.

At the still activeYueji kiln,wewereable toobserve the process of ceramic productionfromstarttofinish.Wewatchedwhile‘saggers’(previouslyfired,reusableceramiccontainers)were stacked into the kiln chambers, eachholding three teapots. Standing at thehighpoint of the kiln and looking over thesites, the scale of the mass production wasobvious.Stacksoftimberwerecloseby,felledfrom the surrounding region. Dedicatedareas formoulding, luting, trimming, dryingandglazingwere all evident andwe eagerlyobservedeachstageofproduction.

Themembers of our group,which includedTAASA committee members, Sabrina Snowand Ann Proctor, would all assume theclosestvantagepointswhiletryingnottogetintheway!Weweremetwithunfailinggoodhumourandwealwayshopedthatourhushedcommentsandflurriesofcameraclickswerenotadistraction.Theskillsweobservedoftendrewourspontaneousapplause:theresponsewasgenerallyamodest,bemusedsmile.

The nearby Yueji Contemporary CeramicsCentre provided a fascinating display ofmodern products by ceramists from variouscountries using the local kaolin stone. Bycontrast,theDehuaCeramicsMuseumdisplaysacomprehensiverangeofexcavatedceramicsfrom Tang to Qing. Several large charts onthe walls state the chemical composition of

travEllEr’stalE:a SEacS StUDy tOUr Of hiStOric KiLN SitES iN fUJiaN aND JiNgDEzhEN

Linda McLaren

KthEYuEJikilncoMplEx, fUJiaN prOViNcE, chiNa, 2010. phOtO: aNN prOctOr


thevariousclaysandglazesand indicate themodernapproachtodeterminingprovenanceof ware types. The chemical analysis isundertakenatShanghaiUniversity.

On theway to themuseumswehad stoppedat Sanban County, Dehua to marvel at anoperationalwoodenwaterwheel, rhythmicallyand unceasingly crushing porcelain stonevirtually unattended, as has been themethodforcenturies.Riverwaterturnsthewheelthatdrives a pivoting lever. The end of the leverhasamalletattached,whichpoundsthestone.Thevibrationof repeated impact causesmorestonetofallfromaheapintotheholewherethecrushingtakesplace-simpleandveryeffective.

Onday5ofourstudytourweflewfromJinjiangtoNanchang.NextdayourfirststopwastheJiangxiProvincialMuseumdisplaying locallyexcavatedwares.The earliest aregreenwaresdatingfromthebeginningofthe10thcentury.Whitewares,qingbai andunderglazeblueandwhite were also produced. There are manyuniquepieces thatwereexcavated fromlocaltombs.Next,intheImperialCeramicsMuseumin Jingdezhen, we admired the magnificentcollectionofMingandQingwares(1368-1912)produced by Imperial kilns for the courts ofthosedynasties.

Still blessed with an abundance of rawmaterials, Jingdezhen truly lives up to itsname as a porcelain centre – even the city’slamppostsaremadeofceramic!Day8arrivedtooquicklyandourlastfascinatingvisitwastotheHutiankilnmuseumandexcavations.Song and Yuan ceramics typical of exportwares, suchas theubiquitousSongDynastyqingbaiewer,wereondisplay,aswellasblueandwhitewarefromtheYuanDynasty.

Time after time our group huddled aroundaglass show-caseas Jiazigenerouslysharedher extensive knowledge with us. “Look at this piece of blue and white. See how the imported

cobalt ‘bites’ into the clay!“.Expertinstructionsuch as this triggered rapid-fire questions,theanswersenablingeachparticipanttoaddpieces to their own jigsaw of knowledge ofChineseglazedceramics.

Neither the inclement weather nor theunseasonably cold temperatures deterred theeagershoppersinourgroupastheysearchedfor just the right mementos amongst theplentiful supply of beautiful reproductionsin factory and museum shops and markets.LessonslearnedfromJiaziwereputtothetesttoenableselectionofthemostauthenticpieces.

A ‘show and tell’ of purchases after dinneron our last evening provided the finalopportunity to discuss the types, decorationand main attributes that distinguish thevarious ceramic wares of each dynasty.WeagreedthattherigorousplanningbyMarjorieChu, a stalwart on the SEACS board andparticipantonthetripandtheexpertceramiccommentary and analysis of Chen Jiazi hadresultedinaveryfruitfulstudytour.

The SEACS and the NUS have a history ofcollaboration. The current SEACS exhibitionbeing staged at NUSMuseum until 25 July2010, ‘Southeast Asian Ceramics: NewLight On Old Pottery’, is accompanied bya commemorative book that also contains averycomprehensivecatalogue.Editedbyandco-contributed to by noted Southeast Asianscholar, Prof. John Miksic, the beginningsof the SEACS, the contribution of RoxannaBrown to SEA ceramics studies, maritimearchaeology, kiln sites in SEA and ceramicsas trade commodities are all covered in itsscholarlyandfascinatingchapters.

Linda McLaren is an independent researcher interested

in the archaeological study of glazed chinese

ceramics found on shipwrecks and at terrestrial sites in

Southeast asia prior to the 18th century.

throwingpotsat thE yUEJi KiLN cOMpLEx,

fUJiaN prOViNcE, chiNa. phOtO: aNN prOctOr

loadingtEapotsiNtO SaggErS at thEyUEJi KiLN cOMpLEx,

fUJiaN prOViNcE, chiNa. phOtO: aNN prOctOr

ta a S a r E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 2 29

r E c E n t t a a s a a c t i v i t i E s

taasaactEvEnt

13 -14 March, 2010

TAASAmembershipofferstheopportunitytojoin specialist excursions to view collectionswith expert guidance. About 20 TAASAmembers - from Sydney, Melbourne andregional centres as well as Canberra itself– visited the National Library (NLA), theNational Gallery (NGA) and ANU, duringaweekend of lovely early autumnweather.We socialisedaswell,with friends from theAsia Bookroom, and dined together on theSaturdayevening.

At theNLA,curatorsSylviaCarrandLindaGroom took us through some gems fromthe Picture Collection including drawingsof Chinese architecture by Hardy Wilsonand some beautiful old Japanese prints. Ididn’t see enough of the fine collection ofphotographs from pre-revolutionary China,partly because I was so very absorbed bythe thousands of black and white photosof sculptures and bas reliefs at Angkor andJogyakarta taken by French diplomat YvesCoffininthe1960s.

In the afternoon we gathered in theCollection Study Room of the NGA for aprivatepresentationbyGaelNewton,SeniorCurator of Photography, of a wonderfulset of photographs and albums recentlyacquired from a Dutch collector, Leo Haks,documenting the Dutch colonial experienceinIndonesia.

Iranian/AustralianartistNasserPalangimetusontheANUcampusonSundaymorning.Nasser is himself a calligrapher and artistof note, and he and his wife, also an artist,now run a gallery in Canberra.He gave anillustratedtalkontheaestheticsandmeaningof Islamic calligraphy and the presentpopularityofIranianartistsintheWest.Thefinal stop of the weekend was at HumbleHouse,ownedbyRogerandWeilianCarter.Usingexamplesfromtheirshopfloor,Rogerand Weilian gave us a fascinating insightinto the history of Chinese furniture andmanufacturing techniques. Many thanks toHweifenCheahandGillGreenfororganisingthisweekend.

roz cheney is a member of the taaSa textile Study

group.

taasansw

Textile Study Group Meeting – 21 April About 30 members of TAASA’s Textile StudyGroupcametogethertohearalivelyreportfromseveralmembersontheirvisittoIraninOctober-November last year. Peter Court presented aslideshowofhiswonderfulphotographs,largelyofancientAchaemenidandSassaniansitesandtheir relief sculptures, clearly demonstratingclothingwornatthetimebykings,priestsandsoldiers, their horse trappings and headwear.Peteralsoshowedussomeoutstandingtextilesincluding a particularly fine double-sided silkcarpet and a beautiful 200-year-old qualamkarclothfromIsfahan.

Roz Cheney gave a short talk on the historyof qualamkar printed and painted fabrics. She,

SandyWatson,TerryBisleyandSandraForbesbroughtalongexamplesoftextilesfromIsfahanandYazd, aswell as some brocade cloth andhouseholditemswhicharespecialitiesofYazd.

taasaQuEEnsland

Private Exhibition viewing –17 AprilA TAASA group, including invited friends,enjoyed a private visit to an exhibition ofmemberMarjorieMorris’sextensivecollectionheld at Gallery 159 in Brisbane’s The Gapsuburb.TheexhibitionincludeditemsrangingfromhandwovencottonandsilkpiecesfromIndonesia, Thailand and Laos, with somefrom African countries and Mexico. Therewere embroideries from different minoritygroupsinChinaandCentralAsiawithsomefrom India and Pakistan and other items ofinterest. Marjorie spoke informally to thegroupaboutthecollectionandheradventuresinacquiringmanyoftheitems.

Gamelan music concert – 8 MayAt the Brisbane Conservatorium, TAASAmembers enjoyed a concert of gamelanmusic entitled Javanese Gamelan and Chinagiven by the Queensland ConservatoriumGamelan Ensemble, conducted by artist-in-residence, Pak Joko Susilo. GreggHoward,Senior Lecturer in Music Studies at theConservatorium, gave an introductory talkspecificallyfortheTAASAgroup.

t a a s a M E M B E r s ’ d i a r Y J U N E – a U g U S t 2 0 1 0

taasanswEvEnts

NSW Textile Study Group TheStudygroupmeetsonthesecondWednesdayofthemonthfrom6.00till8.00pmattheBriefingRoom,PowerhouseMuseum.9 June:CaroleDouglasonembroideryfromKutch.28 July:TerryBisleyandSue-annSmilesonLotusstemweavinginMyanmar.NomeetinginAugust.Furtherinformation:[email protected](02)93311810.

taasaQuEEnslandEvEnts

Exhibition floor talk on Batik of Java: Poetics and PoliticsThursday8July,2010

MembersareinvitedtovisittheCaloundraRegionalArtGalleryat22OmrahAvenue,whereMariaFriend(curator)andGregRoberts(collector)willpresentafloortalkonthisexhibitionof23outstandingbatiksfromthenorthcoastofJavaandaseriesofpaintings“Batik Has Been Burnt” byfamousIndonesianbornartistDadangChristanto.(seepp22-3ofthisissue)

Talk on Hmong costume artSaturday14thAugustMariaFriendwillgiveatalkonHmong Costume Art intheQAGlecturetheatre.MembersofthelocalHmongcommunity,originallyfromLaos,willattendtopresentsomeoftheircostumes.

atthEshrinEofthEBrothErofthEEighthiMaM iN Shiraz

2009. JEN parSONNagE (LEft) with taaSa MEMbErS rOz chENEy,

SaNDy watSON, tErry biSLEy aND briONy fOrrESt


w h a t ’ s o n i n a u s t r a l i a a n d o v E r s E a s : J U N E - a U g U S t 2 0 1 0

a S E L E c t i V E r O U N D U p O f E x h i b i t i O N S a N D E V E N t S

Compiled by Tina Burge

life,deathandmagic-2000yearsofsoutheastasianancestralartNational gallery of australia, canberra

13 august – 31 October, 2010

Featuresdramaticsculpture,jewelleryandtextilesrevealingthepowerofartmadeforritualsoflifeanddeathfromprehistorictorecenttimes,drawnfromtheGallery’srenownedcollectionandkeyloansfrominstitutionsinAsia,EuropeandAmerica.

AforumwithinternationalandAustralianscholarsandcuratorsdiscussingtheworkswillbeheldon14Augustfrom1.30pm–5.00pm.

For further information go to: nga.gov/whatson/highlights.

RobynMaxwell,SeniorCurator,AsianArt,andcuratoroftheexhibition,presentsanoverviewoftheexhibitionon17Augustat12.45pm.NikivandenHeuvel,ExhibitionAssistantwillintroducerecentGalleryacquisitionsofSoutheastAsiananimistsculptureandancientbronzeson26Augustat12.45pm.

facingasia–historiesandlegaciesofasianstudiophotographyNational gallery of australia, canberra

21-22 august 2010

Facing AsiaisaconferenceorganisedbytheANU’sResearchSchoolofHumanitiesandtheArtsthatwillexplorethesignificanceofthecamerainthehistoricaldepictionofAsianpeople.Seep28fordetails.

For bookings and further information go to: www.rsh.anu.edu.au/events/2010/facingasia

asiaarttalksNational gallery of australia, canberra

Charmane Head,yogateacher,onthepowerofmudras(handgestures)-12Juneat2.00pm.

Beatrice Thompson,AssistantCurator,AsianArt,onan18th–early19thcenturysilkembroideredcoverletfromQing-dynastyChina-5Augustat12.45pm.

Clement Onn,AssistantCuratorofSouthAsianart,AsianCivilisationsMuseum,Singapore,ondesignsandmeaningofIndiantextilestradedtoIndonesia-10Augustat12.45pm.

For further information go to: www.nga.gov.au

nEwsouthwalEs

dadangchristanto-theygiveevidencethe art gallery of New South wales, Sydney

27 May – 25 July 2010

Sixteenlarger-than-lifemaleandfemalesculpturedfiguresspeakeloquentlyforthevictimsofoppressionandsocialjustice.Politicallycharged,theyrepresentdisplacedvictims,mutelycarryingthebodiesofinnocentmen,womenandchildrenwhohavebeenkilledinIndonesia.BasedinAustraliasince1999,ChristantoisoneofthemostprominentIndonesiancontemporaryartists.

2010artsofasialectureseries–termii-powerfulpatronsart gallery of New South wales, Sydney

tuesdays 1-2pm from 20 July - 19 October 2010

Thesecondhalfofthe2010ArtsofAsialectureseriescontinuestoexplorethepre-eminentindividualsinAsiawhohaveshapedthearts,cultureandsenseofidentityoftheirpeoples.ThefirstlectureofthesecondtermisbyDavidTemplemanonTibet’s5thDalaiLama,whooversawtheefflorescenceofTibetanartisticstyleandsetintomotionthecreationofthePotalaPalace.

For full program and online booking www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/events/courses

thezhongjian:Midwaya travelling exhibition from the

wollongong city gallery, wollongong

21 May - 20 July 2010

ThisexhibitionbeingheldattheAlburyArtGalleryincludesworkbyseveralofChina’sandAustralia’smostnotablecontemporaryartists.

For further information go to: www.alburycity.nsw.gov.au and follow the links to the Albury Art Gallery.

QuEEnsland

unnerved:thenewzealandprojectQueensland art gallery, gallery of Modern art,

brisbane

1 May – 4 July 2010

ExploresaparticularlyrichdarkveinthatrecursinNewZealandcontemporaryartandcinema.Psychologicalorphysicaluneasepervadesmanyworksintheexhibition,withhumour,parodyandpoeticsubtletyamongthestrategiesusedbyartistsacrossgenerationsandgenres.

For further information go to: www.qag.qld.gov.au

Queenslanddragon:chineseinthenorthcairns regional art gallery, cairns

21 May – 4 July 2010

Includesalmost100historicalphotographsanddocumentsthattestifytotheimportanceoftheChinesecommunityintheearlystagesofthedevelopmentofFarNorthQueensland.

For further information go to: www.cairnsregionalgallery.com.au

victoria

teaandzenNational gallery of Victoria,

international, Melbourne

15 april – 29 august 2010

PresentsthehistoryofteainChinaandJapanandincludesceramic,lacquerandbambooteautensilsalongsideZenpaintingsandcalligraphy,creatingacontemplativesettingevokingthespiritofthe‘WayofTea’.Theexhibitionalsodrawsattentiontotea’scontinuingpracticeinpresentdayJapaneseculture–theteaceremonyanditsinfluenceoncontemporaryJapaneseartists.

Variouseventscomplementtheexhibition,includingaperformanceoftheUrasenkeTeaCeremonyon30Juneat12.00pm.

For further information go to: www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whatson

fluidBorders–waysofseeingorientalrugsthe Johnston collection gallery, Melbourne

5 July – 22 October 2010

Byexhibitingrugsfromawiderangeoftraditionsandstyles,Fluid Borderswillexploretheimpactoforientalrugsonwesterndécor,artandthinking,andhowhistoryhasplacedorientalrugsinthescholarshipoforientaltextiles.SusanScollayhascuratedtheexhibitionwithselectedworksfromtheJohnstonCollectionandprivatecollectionsinMelbourne.

Awiderangeofeventsassociatedwiththeexhibitioninclude:

Fluid Borders Study Day–10July2010from10.00am-4.00pm.SpeakerswillincludeLeighMackay,PresidentoftheOrientalRugSocietyofNSWonthePazyrykCarpet;RogerLeong,Curator,InternationalFashionandTextilesattheNationalGalleryofVictoria,ontheTrinitariasCarpet;SusanScollay,Curatorof


FluidBordersonOrientalcarpetsinEurope;ElizabethCross,ArtHistorianon‘LearningtoSee’aboutwesternartists’responsestoorientalcarpets.

SusanScollaywillalsobegivingaseriesoffourlecturesonWednesdaysfrom7-28Julyat10.15-11.45amonthetraditionalroleofcarpetsthroughouthistory.Inaddition,lecturesonIslamicarchitecture,gardensandtileworkwillbeheldinJulyandAugust.

For full details of lectures and booking information go to: www.johnstoncollection.org.

southaustralia

reflectionsofthelotus:artfrom

thailand,Burma,cambodiaandlaos

art gallery of South australia, adelaide

21 May - 4 July 2010

Presentsraremasterpiecesincludinglife-sizeBuddhaimages,textiles,ceramics,bronzeandlacquerwarefromtheArtGallery'sownextensivecollectionaswellasfromAustralianprivatecollections.AhighlightwillbetheGallery'sowncollectionofThaiceramics,partofwhichwilltourinterstateattheendoftheexhibition.

For further information go to: www.artgallery.sa.gov.au

intErnational

unitEdkingdoM

theprintedimageinchina–fromthe8thtothe21stcenturiesthe british Museum, London

6 May – 5 September 2010

Ahistoryof1,300yearsofChineseprintingusingtheMuseum’scollection,witharound120imagesfromthe8thcenturyCEtothepresent.

For further information go to: www.britishmuseum.org

francE

pakistan–wherecivilisationsmeet–1st–6thcenturies–gandharanartguimet Museum, paris

21 april -16 august

JointlyorganisedbytheGuimetMuseumandtheNationalArtandExhibitionCentreofGermanyinBonn,itincludesBuddhiststatues,lowreliefsfromtemplesandstupasalongsideterracottaandstuccoitemsfrommonasteriesorpalaces.

For further information go to: www.guimet.fr

irEland

Muraqqachester beatty Library, Dublin

25 June - 3 October 2010

Focusesonagroupofsixoutstandingillustratedalbums(muraqqa‘s)compiledinIndiabetweenabout1600and1658fortheMughalemperorsJahangirandShahJahan.

For further information go to: www.cbl.ie

Japan

theBirthofchinesecivilizationtokyo National Museum, tokyo

6 July – 5 September 2010

FeaturesartifactsexcavatedfromChina’sHenanprovince,thehomeofChina’sdynasticcapitalsfromtheShangtoNorthernSongdynasties.

For further information go to: www.tnm.go.jp/en

H E R I T A G E D E S T I N A T I O N SN AT U R E • B U I L D I N G S • P E O P L E • T R A V E L L E R S

PO Box U237, University of Wollongong NSW 2500 Australiap +61 2 4228 3887 e [email protected] 21 071 079 859 LIC NO TAG 1747

JAPAN: AUTUMN, ISLANDS AND ART

BURMA: THE ESSENTIAL

EXPERIENCE

CAMBODIA: ANGKOR WAT AND BEYOND

BACKROADS OF BURMA

LAOS: LAND OF THE LOTUS-EATERS

24 October – 09 November 2010

Japan is a two-sided coin: one post-modernist side embraces cutting-edge technology; the other reveres and preserves

fine artistic and cultural traditions. Ann MacArthur, Senior Coordinator of Asian Programs at the Art Gallery of NSW, is our experienced

Japanophile leader. Kyushu and Shikoku predominate including the Setouchi International Art Festival based on the islands of the Inland Sea. A lengthy

stay in Kyoto, home to 20% of Japan's national treasures, is

our spectacular autumn finale.Land Only cost per person

twinshare ex Fukuoka $9500

29 October – 17 November 2010

Designed and hosted by TAASA contributor Dr Bob Hudson, our

longstanding annual Burma program features extended stays

in medieval Mrauk U, capital of the lost ancient kingdom of Arakan (now Rakhine State) and Bagan, rivalling Angkor

Wat as Southeast Asia’s richest archaeological precinct. Exciting experiences in Yangon,

Inle Lake, Mandalay and a private cruise down the mighty Ayeyarwady are also included.

Land Only cost per person twinshare ex Yangon $3795

07 November – 24 November 2010

Angkor’s timeless grandeur is unmissable, an unforgettable travel memory. Yet Cambodia

offers a host of other important cultural and travel experiences: outstanding ancient, vernacular and French colonial architecture;

spectacular riverine environments; a revitalising urban capital in

Phnom Penh; interesting cuisine and beautiful countryside. Join expatriate museologist, author, Siem Reap resident and TAASA contributor Darryl Collins on this latest, updated version of our

highly evaluated 2008 and 2009 programs. Prasat Preah Vihear

visit scheduled subject to access restrictions.

Land Only cost per person twinshare ex Phnom Penh

$3575

16 November – 02 December 2010

One trip to Burma is never enough. Backroads of Burma is ideal for the second-time visitor

or indeed first-time travellers desiring remote and rustic

locations. Starting and finishing in Yangon, our schedule wends south into Mon State, visiting

Kyaiktiyo and Moulmein before heading north to Sri

Ksetra, the ancient Pyu capital. Mystical Mount Popa, Bagan, Monywa and the spectacular

cave temples of Po Win Taung, Sagaing and Mandalay follow.

Dr Bob Hudson is program leader.

Land Only cost per person twinshare ex Yangon $4150

27 January – 10 February 2011

Enigmatic and relatively undeveloped, landlocked Laos offers travellers an

intimate glimpse of traditional Southeast Asian life. Gradually

emerging from tumultuous recent history, Laos is a gem of Indochina with interesting art, architecture, French and Lao

cuisine, intricate river systems, and rugged highlands. Darryl Collins, long term Southeast Asian resident, has designed

and will guide a comprehensive tour of Laos which includes the wonderful historic royal city of Luang Prabang and Wat Phu

Champasak.Land Only cost per person

twinshare ex Vientiane $4400

For a brochure or further information phone Ray Boniface at Heritage Destinations on +61 2 4228 3887 or email [email protected] or visit our website

www.heritagedestinations.com.au

TAASA · PDF file13 sMall and potEnt – fishing charMs and thE MElanau of ... General...

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