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THE
STORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF The art history of Bali runs parallel to the history of the island itself. When Bali became a colony of Java, the conquering aristocracy brought their art with them, and every political event in Java has had a powerful influence in the development of Balinese culture.Thus, the early classic period of Javanese art corresponds also to a classic period in Bali, and when the mother country suffered disturbances and transformations, these were reflected in Balinese art, until Islamism and political chaos severed all connections between the two islands, and Hinduism had to find refuge in Bali. As the island became the centre of new empire and no longer a province of Java, the Balinese natives took over the art of the exiled aristocracy, transformed v to suit their taste, and a typical Balinese art came into being. Nothing definite is known of the art of pre-Hindu Bali, but we know that the old Indonesian had a culture of its own, perhaps like the present one of the people of Nias and the Batak~ of Sumatra, to whom the Balinese are in many ways akin. They worked metals, especially iron for the making of magic krisses; cultivated rice, had a well-organized administration, kept domestic animals, and made splendid textiles. Outside of a stone sarcophagus, some bronze bracelets and arrow-heads found in Petang, probably belonging to people of Hinduistic affiliation. No material traces of their megalithic monuments remain, or have yet been found, perhaps because archaeological excavation has hardly begun in Bali. But a great deal of the old Indonesian spirit has remained in the daily life of the people, not only among the Bali Agas, but also alongside the Hinduism of the ordinary Balinese. As we shall see later, there are definite traces of what could have been the art of pre-Hindu times found today in the offerings, in the patterns of textiles, in certain sculptures, and the like. Antiques are scarce in Bali, although there are thousands of mossy and battered statues all over the island, often of a more primitive style than the usual contemporary art. But a newly made statue appears of great age after six months of exposure to the damp climate of Bali, and, on the other hand, many ancient statues resemble those made in recent years. Many of the innumerable remains found in the temples, in jungles, or imbedded in the trunk of a waringin may easily be contemporary.
We made a sport of going out with Walter Spies into remote districts
to find objects of what we called “ native “ Balinese style, and often
located figures in wood, stone, and even clay that showed no trace of
Hindu influence. There were demons, girls, primitive animals, and alarm-drums
with faces carved on them that were reminiscent of Dyak, Batak, and
Polynesian art. Spies is an enthusiast for the “ megalithic “ art and
he has discovered many strange stones with primitive carvings, such
as the stone in Bebitera, or the magnificent stone altar in Batukandik
in the little island of Nusa Penida: a pyramid twelve feet high surmounted
by the torso of a woman with large breasts, supporting on her head a
stone throne like those from Nias, with two roosters standing on her
shoulders, their heads resting on the palms of her hands. links [ 1 ] - [ 2 ] - [ 3 ] - [ 4 ]
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