Minangkabau Malay Brass Betel Stand

Large, Cast Brass Footed Bowl (Tcharanos)

Minangkabau People, Sumatra, Indonesia

19th century

height: 23.5cm, diameter: 29cm

This large and particularly beautiful footed stand was cast to hold the accoutrements of a betel nut set. Cast using the lost-wax process, it disassembles into two parts, and is the product of Minangkabau brass-workers in West Sumatra. From West Sumatra, such brass items seem to have been exported to the rest of the Southeast Asian Islamic/Malay world, including to the Malay peninsula where, possibly the local emigres Minangkabau facilitated this trade.

The foot and bowl are wonderfully decorated with vegetal scrollwork, very much in keeping with the Minangkabau and Malay Islamic-influenced aesthetic.

The item is in fine condition, and has a pleasing subdued, golden colour.

An almost identical stand is in Singapore’s National Museum collection, and is illustrated in Sheares (1987, p. 75). This is one of the finest examples of Malay/Minangkabau brassware that we have seen.

References

Sheares, C., ‘The Southeast Asian Gallery’, Arts of Asia, May-June 1987.

Singh, B., Malay Brassware, National Museum of Singapore, 1985.

Provenance:

UK art market

Inventory no.: 2901

SOLD