Spirit of Bali

Murni's in Los Angeles

We invite you to a
celebration of Balinese beauty

Sunday, October 19, 2008
12 noon to 6 pm

Murni

Ni Wayan Murni

from Ubud

the cultural heart of Bali

will be displaying part of her personal collection of museum quality new and antique textiles and other tribal pieces.

 

Mamuli: Sumba, Indonesia. Early 20th century or earlier. Mamuli are ear ornaments, ritual heirlooms passed down through the family. Their distinctive outlines allude to female reproductive powers. They are classified as male goods, given by the groom’s family to the bride’s family, in the ritual gift exchange that accompanies marriage. Within the larger male classification, plain mamuli are a female type while those with elaborate bases are a male type.

Geringsing Patelikur Prembon: Tenganan, East Bali. Only three places in the world weave this double-ikat style: Japan, Gujarat and the village of Tenganan in East Bali. It is a sacred textile. Geringsing protects against illness and evil and is an important part of many Balinese ceremonies.An incredibly complex process, requiring great skill, it involves dying the pattern into both the warp and weft threads. Some dyes can only be gathered during certain phases of the moon. It can take 15 years to dye.    Cepuk: Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia. Early 20th century. Cepuk in Balinese means ‘to meet God’. They protect and purify and are used in ceremonies and ritual dances. They are very rare. The background is always deep red or brownish-red. The cloth is framed by thin white, black, blue and yellow lines. The textile always has 4 colours: white, red, yellow and blue. The blue can alternatively be black or green. These colours correspond with the Balinese gods: Iswara, Brahma, Mahadewa and Wisnu.

 

Murni has collected all kinds of Asian arts, crafts and textiles for more than thirty years. Many of the items in her collection have become very rare because they are no longer made. She will bring textiles from all over the Indonesian archipelago, along with Burmese shamans' books, Thai Yantra costumes, ceremonial jewelry and tribal objects, which she has personally collected on her travels throughout the region over the years.

 

Yantra Undershirt, North Thailand. This is a cotton undershirt made in a remote village, covered in protective drawings, unsophisticated and charming. Each is a unique work of art. Yantra are magical writings, drawings and symbols requesting the cosmic forces to bring protection, good luck and love. Buddhist monks or shamans write the yantra, meditating first until they are in trance, they write and chant simultaneously. The number of yantra masters has severely declined in recent decades.

 

Murni is an invited participant in the Arts of Pacific Asia Show at Fort Mason, San Francisco and a guest speaker at the Textile Arts Council which supports the de Young Museum, San Francisco, She has contributed to various publications and was a consultant to a new book Secrets of Bali, Fresh Light on the Morning of the World by Jonathan Copeland.

 

Bracelet: Timor, Indonesia. 19th century. Silver bracelets were cast in central and western Timor. This elegant silver bracelet displays skilled craftsmanship. It was worn by men or women, probably part of a dance costume, for use at festivals. It is in an open circle form curving inward at the center.  Mandaka: West Sumba, Indonesia. Early - mid 20th century. This silver ornament is called a mandaka. It is not entirely clear if it is used as an earring or pendant or both. It is in a symbolic shape that predates even the coming of metal and appears throughout the region in a variety of objects, especially jewelry: the open oval shape. The form symbolizes the female reproductive organs and therefore symbolizes fertility. The sides and bottom are, however, the focal point, and resemble a seashell.

 

This rare opportunity has been arranged to coincide with the symposium Talking Cloth: New Studies on Indonesian Textiles at the Los Angeles Couny Museum of Art on Saturday, October 18, 2008, held in conjunction with the exhibition Five Centuries of Indonesian Textiles: Selections from the Mary Hunt Kahlenberg Collection on view from September 18, 2008 through September 13, 2009.

 

Tattoo Book: North Thailand.. This tattoo book is from a monastery, owned by a Buddhist monk, who was a tattoo master. Young men want tattoos for protection and to make them popular. The book provides designs, mystical diagrams and syllables in the sacred Khmer Khom alphabet. The monk uses a wooden stick with a sharp metal tip, which holds a small quantity of ink, and murmurs magical formulas to make them “alive”.

 

Save the Date

Sunday, October 19, 2008
12 noon to 6 pm

Free entrance

Light refreshments, wines and beverages will be served.

 

Songko: Bugis, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Early 20th century .The Bugis people of South Sulawesi are bearers of an ancient maritime heritage that for millennia supported the spread of Austronesian peoples throughout the Indonesian archipelago. Songko hats are worn by noble men at traditional ceremonies and coronations. They are family heirlooms and handed down from father to son. Woven lontar palm leaf. The higher the status of the wearer, the more gold on the hat.   Priest’s Hat: Yao, Yunnan, China. Early 20th century. To practise the Taoist religion the priests require certain garments and objects. One of these is a woven hat. The hats are rare. They are surprisingly resilient and show little wear and tear despite many years of use. The hat is made of horsehair and is in very good condition.

 

MorYork Gallery

4959 York Boulevard

Highland Park

Los Angeles

California 90042


Batak Toba: North Sumatra, 19th century . Indonesia. This is a Batak divination book called a pustaha containing magic formulae, oracles, recipes for medicines, instructions for rituals, and magic cures. The language is an archaic form of Batak dialect no longer used. The datu, priest, was the only person who could write it. It is made of bark strips from the alim tree, prepared with rice flour paste, cut and folded. The writing is from pigment and there is a wooden cover.

 

A portion of the sales will benefit the

Fowler Textile Council Acquisition Fund

Fowler Museum, UCLA


Ceremonial Container: Cambodia. 19th – early 20th century. Betel nut chewing is an ancient habit and common throughout Southeast Asia. It is recreational, a sign of hospitality and an important part of many ceremonies, but is now declining. Every ingredient has its own container. A person’s status can be identified by the materials and degree of decoration. Cambodian silversmiths excelled at small containers with delicate designs and workmanship inherited from their Khmer predecessors. This silver container is for betel nuts.  Ceremonial Container: Cambodia. 19th – early 20th century. Cambodian silversmiths excelled at small containers with delicate designs and workmanship inherited from their Khmer predecessors. This silver bird is made in two parts. The cover forms the upper half. The join is barely visible. It looks like one piece. It displays skilled craftsmanship, impressive relief techniques and depth of design.

 

All pieces are for sale. If you wish to purchase some of Murni's hand selected textiles or objects, please be prepared to pay by cash or check. We are unable to process credit card transactions.

 

Calligraphy Batik: Sumatra, Indonesia.Mid 20th century or earlier. Mid 20th century or earlier. They all have Arabic script; hence they are called ‘calligraphic batiks’. The Arabic writing is usually the basmallah or the shahadah. The basmallah is said before any big project: “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.” The shahadah is the main tenet of Islam: “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is His prophet.” The cloths are sacred and worn at rites of passage ceremonies. They also protect.

 

MorYork Gallery

 

If you would like to know more, please visit Murni’s fabulous web site: www.murnis.com or email her direct.

RSVP:

Secrets of Bali, Fresh Light on the Morning of the World

 

Murni's Exhibitions:

 

MorYork Gallery, Los Angeles, October 2008

Los Angeles Asian and Tribal Art Show, November 2008

San Francisco Arts of Pacific Asia Show, February 2009

 

Villas    Houses    Shops    Warung    Weddings
Wallpaper    Reviews    Online Shop
Home    Contact    Secrets of Bali

Articles by and about Murni