Artifact Record Details
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Basic Information |
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| Artifact Identification | Painting: Temple Vestible Scene (1972.08.0023) | |
| Classification | Communication Artifacts : Art : Painting | |
| Visual Description | None | |
| Artist/Maker | None | |
| Geographic Location | Asia, Southeast, Republic of Indonesia, Island of Bali, Lesser Sunda Islands | |
| Period/Date | , PRE-WW2, 1900 - 1950 CE | |
| Culture | Balinese, Indonesian | |
| Locality/Archaeological Site | ||
Physical Analysis |
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| Dimension 1 (Height) | 143.0 cm | |
| Dimension 2 (Width) | 128.0 cm | |
| Dimension 3 (Depth) | 4.7 cm | |
| Weight | 23,700 g | |
| Measuring Remarks | Weight and Measurements taken with frame. 9/28/2005: Measurements taken without frame for exhibit installation by JCH. 50 x 55.75 inches. | |
| Materials | textile--linen, wood, glass, pigment--watercolor | |
| Manufacturing Processes | painting, assembling | |
| Munsell Color Information | waived | |
Research Remarks |
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| Published Description | N/A | |
| Scholarly Notes | 1/16/2007: "The following notes are taken from answers given by Garrett Kam (scholar of Balinese art and dance-drama, recommended to Tandy Lacy by Robert Brown, Director of the Center for World Music) to questions posed by Tandy Lacy; e-mail from Kam dated 6/29/2005. Comments in [ ] provided by Tandy Lacy. These comments correspond to information in the Object File. Refer to Object File for complete information: nglinggihang déwa hyang Seating a Divine Ancestor Given the visual clues, this painting most likely shows a post-cremation ceremony known as nglinggihang déwa hyang (seating a divine ancestor), which was also confirmed by a Balinese friend who looked at the photo. After the mortal remains have been cremated, the soul goes through a series of purification rituals before finally becoming a divine ancestor. In this ritual, the soul is invited to enter a container dressed in white cloth (color of Shiva, Hindu god of death and reincarnation) and decorated with flowers known as daksina pengadegan (residence for an installed being), which are carried on the heads of the women in the painting. These are taken to various important temples to be purified, blessed and worshipped by the descendants. From there they are taken home to their family temples and ceremonially installed in the pelinggih ibu or gedong paibon (ancestral mother shrine). A pura (temple) of some type is shown in the upper right with its candi bentar (split gate), balé (pavilions) and méru (pagodas). The three processions of women carrying objects on their heads are simultaneously arriving from different places. The focal point is on the arrival of the women at the temple, welcomed by music and dance. In Balinese cosmology, this upper right corner of the painting would represent the most sacred kaja-kangin (mountain-rising sun) direction, or northeast in the southern part of the island, thus giving a clue as to where the painting was made. The four women in front of the temple are performing an improvised dance for mendak (welcoming), a form of gabor or péndét (two types of offering dances) in which they hold various upakara (ritual implements) (here from left to right: pasepan (incense brazier), rébong (floral arrangement), tetabuhan (a vessel, in this case a caratan or necked clay vessel with a spout, that contains either holy water, palm wine, rice wine, or palm gin for ritual ablutions), and canang (betel chew with flowers). Such dances of welcome are performed when sacred objects arrive at a temple. A south Balinese angklung ensemble with 4 notes as indicated by the 4 keys (north Bali uses 5 notes) is included in the scene. It usually (but not always) is played for rituals associated with the dead. The men in the lower left are carrying a pig that will be slaughtered for offerings. One man holds a gandék or kompék (plaited bamboo bag) under his arm containing betel chewing ingredients as well as spices that will be used to flavor the meat. They are moving towards another direction and place to do this. The remaining figures in the painting give a feeling for the setting in this village ceremony. The 3 men in the upper left corner appear to be on their way to joining the others, as one of them also carries a gandék or kompék (plaited bamboo bag) similar to the one held by a man in the larger group in the lower left corner. Another man holding a similar bag shares a hand-rolled cigarette with another man in the group of men and boys near the musicians. The structures in the middle left and lower right are part of a household compound. Clearly there are gender roles shown, with the women carrying ritual objects and dancing, men playing music and preparing meat offerings. Children are scattered throughout, for they are the reincarnations of ancestral souls. The foliage is purely decorative but serves to separate scenes as in classical paintings. Based on the stylization, colors, composition, theme and other characteristics, it can be considered a variation of the Ubud style of painting from the village of the same name that includes nearby settlements. I would guess this work to have been made in Padangtegal, a village just to the south of Ubud that has many painters doing similar works to this one. The painting definitely was not done in Kamasan, which has totally different iconography, stylization, colors and characteristics. Nothing is decorated in any way for a festival and there are no offerings. A painting like this does not necessarily have a linear narrative. Balinese rituals do not necessarily flow along a single path of space and time." - Stephanie Blue, Museum Assistant, 1/16/2007 Temple vestible scene. Prof. Clark Cunningham believes that it is by the same artist as 1901.10.0001-2, 1972.08.0089. Probably from the 1930s. Gouache painting stretched on wood and framed under glass. – Unknown, n.d. | |
| Comparanda | N/A | |
| Bibliography | N/A | |
Artifact History |
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| Archaeological Data | N/A | |
| Credit Line/Dedication | On loan from the Ewing Collection, Courtesy of the Krannert Art Museum. | |
| Reproduction | no | |
| Reproduction Information | N/A | |