 A manuscript painting
A manuscript painting with a scene from the Buddha’s life, (a jataka story).Thai, Bangkok style, Ratanakosin period, 19th century.On a modern mount. One of a set of three.
|  A manuscript painting
A manuscript painting with a scene from the Buddha’s life, (a jataka story).Thai, Bangkok style, Ratanakosin period, 19th century.On modern mount.
|  A manuscript painting
A manuscript painting with a scene from the Buddha’s life, (a jataka story).Thai, Bangkok style, Ratanakosin period, 19th century.On modern mount.
|  A kain songket limar ceremonial shawl. Current and Past Exhibitions
A kain songket limar ceremonial shawl. Palembang, South Sumatra.early to mid 20th century. L. 78 ins, 198 cm.W. 28 ¼ ins, 72cm.A kain limar ceremonial shawl, the badan centrefield tie dyed in a variety of colours including yellow, red, aubergine, green and blue, the design possibly depicting the wings and the tail of the mythical garuda bird, at each end the punca borders comprising four decorative borders each showing predominantly floral designs of varying intensity elaborately woven in supplementary weft songket technique with benang emas gold thread.The favourite maroon red of traditional songket is known as merah pulasan (the red of the Pulasan fruit – a wild type of rambutan) or merah ikan (the red of the blood of fish). For a shawl of similar design see plate 36 in Sylvia Fraser-Lu Handwoven Textiles of South-east Asia, Oxford University Press, 1988.
|  A kain songket lepus ceremonial shawl Current and Past Exhibitions
A kain songket lepus ceremonial shawl. Palembang, South Sumatra.early to mid 20th century. L. 84 ins, 213 cm.W. 33 ¼ ins, 84.5cm.A stunning kain lepus selendang ceremonial shawl, the rich maroon-red silk ground elaborately woven in supplementary weft songket technique with benang emas gold thread, the badan centrefield filled with striking bunga sinar matahari ‘rays of the sun’ motif interspersed with small bintang stars and octagonal rhomboid shapes and surrounded by an interlocking rantai formation of large loose tendrils; at either end the two broad punca borders each composed of four detailed sections; the tepi hujung punca of floral design, the badan punca of dense floral and star design, the kepala punca dominated by strong triangular motifs and the tepi tutup kepala; the tepi kaki side borders showing simple floral design.Valuable silks and gold fabrics became a sign of prosperity and power within the royal houses of Southeast Asia. Known literally as ‘cloths of gold’ (kain songket lepus) these exquisite silks typify the kind of textiles sought after. For two similar examples in the Australian National Gallery, see figures 257 and 258, page 181, Robyn Maxwell, Textiles of Southeast Asia – Tradition, Trade and Transformation, Oxford University Press, 1990.
|  A GROUP OF STANDING BUDDHAS Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue nos. 17 TO 20.A GROUP OF STANDING BUDDHAS. LAOS, FROM THE VICINITY OF LUANG PRABANG.SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY.H. (L. TO R. INCLUDING FINIALS): 47 CMS, 18 ½ INS; 62 CMS; 24 ½ INS; 69 CMS, 27 INS; 51 CMS, 20 INS.A group of four gilded and lacquered wood figures of standing Buddhas, each on a raised pedestal, their raised usnishas topped by lotiform or flame finials, the eyes half-closed in meditation and the faces with serene expressions; both arms pendant by the sides in the ‘Calling for Rain’ posture. For more information on this type, please refer to the entry for catalogue nos. 4 to 8.
|  A fragmentary sandstone head of Buddha
A fragmentary sandstone head of Buddha, the eyes downcast in meditation and the mouth set in a gentle smile.Height: 22 cm, 8 3/4 ins.Thai, Ayutthaya Period, circa 17th century.
|  A fine portrait of Princess Shashi Raje of Dewas Jnr
ST387. A fine portrait of Princess Shashi Raje of Dewas Jnr, circa 1920, by S.V Bodas, photographer of Dewas, (inscribed on the mount), 23.5 x 28.25cms. For this image see the cover of Almond Eyes and Lotus feet by Shalini Devi Holkar.
|  A brown terracotta piggy bank
A brown terracotta piggy bank in the form of a boar with tusks, a fat body and furrowed brow.Eastern Javanese, Majapahit period, 15th century.Length: 24 cm (9 ½ inches).Height: 13.5 cm (5 ¼ inches).A long tradition of trade between China and Java culminated with the establishment of a trading colony in 1297. The Chinese were subsequently responsible for the first regular used of coins in Java, which became widespread by the 15th century. During the 14th and 15th centuries, large numbers of terracotta rams, turtles, frogs and pigs were made, all provided with a slot in the back for the insertion of copper coins. Pigs were particularly popular because of their association with prosperity and were modelled with great care, usually wearing heavy necklaces and consisting of short, squat legs supporting great fat bodies. Javanese money-boxes were unlikely to have been owned by individuals and probably had a ritual function, attached to households or village shrines.
|  A blackish-brown terracotta piggy bank
G019.8.A blackish-brown terracotta piggy bank of squat and corpulent form, the face humorous and smiling, a bell and chain around his neck.Eastern Javanese, Majapahit period, circa 15th century.Length: 34 cm, 13 ½ ins.A long tradition of trade between China and Java culminated with the establishment of a trading colony in 1297. The Chinese were subsequently responsible for the first regular use of coins in Java, a practice that became widespread by the 15th century. During the 14th and 15th centuries, large numbers of terracotta rams, turtles, frogs and pigs were made, all provided with a slot in the back for the insertion of copper coins. Pigs were particularly popular because of their association with prosperity and were modelled with great care, usually wearing heavy necklaces and consisting of short, squat legs supporting great fat bodies. Elephants are rare. Javanese money-boxes were unlikely to have been owned by individuals and probably had a ritual function, attached to household or village shrines.
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