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Court Arts of Indonesia

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Court Arts of Indonesia accompanies one of the three major exhibitions of the Festival of Indonesia, a celebration taking place throughout the United States. The Festivals provides an opportunity for Americans to become familiar with the traditions of Indonesia-the world's fifth largest country-a vast archipelago with more than 13,000 islands and 200 languages. Court Arts of Indonesia focuses on a particularly telling aspect of Indonesia: the numerous royal courts that once governed the various islands and island groups of the archipelago. These courts, which shaped the development of diverse societies with distinctive material, spiritual, and intellectual cultures, offer a natural microcosm of the evolution of Indonesian civilization and provide the basis for one of the most comprehensive analyses of Indonesian art ever attempted. rnMore than 200 illustrations, including 140 plates in full color, reveal treasured objects of the court tradition from the eight century C.E. to the present and from every region of Indonesia's vast territory. Included are dazzling jewelry, gem-studded ritual vessels, state crowns set with diamonds, sumptuous royal textiles, regalia, sculptures, musical instruments, manuscripts, masks, shadow puppets, and many outstanding examples of the Keris, the legendary dagger like weapon the epitomizes Indonesia's famed metal work. An entire chapter is devoted to court architecture, possibly the highest manifestation of Indonesian culture. rnFar more than more expressions of splendor and glory, Indonesia's royal objects are intensely powerful symbols and embodiments of unseen forces and principles capable of radically affecting human affairs. The ruler was the center of divine and material power, protector and judge of his people, and patron of all art forms. The courts were therefore the forum for the greatest refinement of Indonesian culture and the successive waves of foreign influence - Indic, Chinese, Islamic, and European--That it absorbed. They offered a continuity that has survived their loss of power and that, though rituals and the nurturing of the arts, remains relevant to Indonesians today.

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Detail Information

Series Title

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Call Number

R 745.1 JES c

Publisher

New York : Harry N. Abrams., 1990

Collation

iv; p.290; 25 cm

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

810931656

Classification

Antiques Decorative/Seni Dekorasi Barang

Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Cet.1 1990

Subject(s)

Indonesia
seni

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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