Making Art in Early Modern Java (16th-19th C.): A New Reading

Abstract

Conventional interpretations of Javanese art during the early modern era (16th-19th century) present an understanding of modes of visual expression as representing a dichotomy between an Islamic style and a style linked with earlier Hindu-Buddhist times (around 5th-15th c.) known as the jaman buda (buda era). Scholarly attempts to reconcile the chronological divisions of the two periods of history with recognisable continuities in the island’s traditions of making art have often invoked concepts of ‘syncretism’ or ‘synthesis’. This subsequently has reinforced the assumption that Javanese art, created on the peripheries of the Muslim world, is somehow less authentically representative of Islamic cultural expression than that found in the religion’s heartlands. This study presents a new reading of Javanese art making through the contextualisation of art practices within the wider sphere of Islam in Java during the early modern era. It argues that ‘syncretism’ and ‘synthesis’ presuppose disjunctions, discontinuity, and hybridity, which do not reflect the productive fusion that took place in early modern Java at the religious, cultural, and intellectual levels. This remarkable amalgamation of Islamic and pre-Islamic practices, beliefs, and perceptions is examined in this study through five central themes that became core elements defining Javanese aesthetic sensibility and Java’s artistic identity. These are: talismanic images in woodcarving; geometric patterns appearing in textiles; arboreal motifs in sculpture and architectural ornament; figurative depiction in the shadow puppet theatre; and imported East Asian ceramic and Indian trade textile designs. Each element is examined within the broad cultural context that is informed by the co-joined relationship of the visual arts to Javanese literature and performance traditions. The dissertation also argues that, over three centuries, Javanese artists valued multi-valency, ambiguity, and balance as aesthetic devices. It was the continual adjustment of these devices, also found occurring in textual and theatrical narratives as well as oral traditions, which created a sophisticated fusion of pre-Islamic art and the new styles. In doing so, the artists articulated the shared spiritual values of Islam as it was understood in Java during the period. These spiritual values manifested in beliefs in the mystical power of certain images, such as geometrical diagrams and arboreal motifs, the talismanic properties of calligram and zoomorphic forms, and the iconography of the shadow puppet theatre. The early modern era commences at the beginning of the 16th-century with the ascendancy of Muslim polities along Java’s northern pesisir (coastal) region over the inland Hindu-Buddhist mandala state of Majapahit. Their strategic geographical location between the Indian Ocean and South China Sea maritime networks contributed to the cosmopolitan milieu of the emporium polities, such as Demak, Cirebon, and Banten. The period ends with the Dutch military victory in the Java War (1825-1830) and the subsequent imposition of the European colonial administration that continued until 1942. During the intervening three hundred years, rich local traditions of Islam, deeply influenced by Sufi and buda spiritual practices, flourished on the island. Concurrently, Java’s reputation for cultural prestige and religious piety spread widely among littoral societies in the region of modern-day western Indonesia and Malaysia. Until today, the art of Java’s early modern era continues to be a significant influence on the batik, puppetry and wood carving traditions that are regarded as epitomising the heritage of Indonesia’s national culture. The study focuses on visually-oriented artworks and is based on a deep analysis of objects found in international museums and private collections, as well as at heritage sites in Indonesia, with reference to historical accounts, primary literary sources, and theatre narratives. It acknowledges that the Javanese terms kagunan (beautiful skilled work) and adiluhung (nobly sublime), which have been associated with the concept of art in contemporary Indonesian discourse, are comparatively recent in their usage. However, they do underscore the profoundly visual nature of Javanese society both in contemporary and historical times. The five themes are examined in sequence with an accompanying appendix illustrating the works of art, referenced in the study, in a time-line positioning Javanese aesthetic trends in the early modern era.