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Pair of Javanese/Malay Ceremonial Vases
Tegul, Central Java, Indonesia
circa 1920
height: 34cm
This pair of highly vases was used to hold flowers and decorated the
Javanese or Malay wedding dais - the platform on which the bride and
groom sit or stand as they preside over the wedding festivities. Typically,
a vase would be placed n either side of the dais with the wedding couple
in the middle.
This pair is decorated in a typically Tegul style - Tegul being a central of
brass smithing and fabrication in central Java. The style mixes Chinese
and local Javanese elements.
This pair of tapering form, rising to a pronounced shoulder above which
rises a wide neck with a crinkled, art deco-like rim is chased all over with
wayang figures surrounded by scrolling tendrils within arched cartouches.
(Wayang are the Javanese shadow plays loosely based on the Indian
epics and other local stories.) Among the various wayang characters
etched into this pair of vases is Semar, who is depicted in profile on the
shoulders of each vase.
Semar is one of the punokawan (clown-servants) in the wayang stories.
Despite being a clown, he is also wise and divine. He is perhaps the best
loved and revered among the wayang characters, with his wisdom, gentle
jokes and persistent farting! He is shown on these vases with his
trademark flat nose, a protruding lower jaw, a tired eye, and bulging rear,
belly, and chest.
Inventory no.: 697
This Item is available - Ask about this item
Pair of Javanese/Malay Ceremonial Vases
Tegul, Central Java, Indonesia
circa 1920
height: 34cm
This pair of highly vases was used to hold flowers and decorated the
Javanese or Malay wedding dais - the platform on which the bride and
groom sit or stand as they preside over the wedding festivities. Typically,
a vase would be placed n either side of the dais with the wedding couple
in the middle.
This pair is decorated in a typically Tegul style - Tegul being a central of
brass smithing and fabrication in central Java. The style mixes Chinese
and local Javanese elements.
This pair of tapering form, rising to a pronounced shoulder above which
rises a wide neck with a crinkled, art deco-like rim is chased all over with
wayang figures surrounded by scrolling tendrils within arched cartouches.
(Wayang are the Javanese shadow plays loosely based on the Indian
epics and other local stories.) Among the various wayang characters
etched into this pair of vases is Semar, who is depicted in profile on the
shoulders of each vase.
Semar is one of the punokawan (clown-servants) in the wayang stories.
Despite being a clown, he is also wise and divine. He is perhaps the best
loved and revered among the wayang characters, with his wisdom, gentle
jokes and persistent farting! He is shown on these vases with his
trademark flat nose, a protruding lower jaw, a tired eye, and bulging rear,
belly, and chest.
Inventory no.: 697
This Item is available - Ask about this item
