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Secrets of Bali by Jonathan Copeland with
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Sumatra Earrings 1 The Proto-Classic period was an important period in the development of gold working techniques in South-east Asia. They began to use heat to work gold. This included sophisticated techniques like casting and soldering. It is likely that a specialised profession evolved to do the job.
Ceremonies are important and frequent and magnificent ceremonial dress is worn. These long ear ornaments, called Subang, are among the most delightful in the region. Made of an alloy with a low-gold content, they are stained red, and decorated with filigree. The filigree decoration is especially delicate and flows in loose, meandering scrolls. Leafy motifs bursting with vitality express ideas about life, energy, human and agricultural fertility. There is a similar pair in a photo in The Jewelry of Southeast Asia (Fig 269, page 220), Ann Richter, Thames & Hudson, 2000.
Sumatra Minangkabau Earrings
2: Sumbek Talingo Background: The Mingangkabau people live in the inland mountainous regions and hills and plains around Padang on the west coast of Sumatra. They claim descent from Alexander the Great. They are one of the world's few matrilineal societies. Women inherit titles of nobility, houses and rice fields. It is also deeply Islamic. These gold disks called Sumbek Talingo are worn in Minangkabau ceremonies. Ceremonies are important and frequent and magnificent ceremonial dress is worn. These large ear ornaments, with intricate designs in repousse and granulation, are not fastened to the ear lobe. A projection on the back fits into the ear canal to hold the ornament in place. There is a similar pair in Walk in Splendour, Ceremonial Dress and the Minangkabau, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1999, (Fig 12.18, page 279).
Sumatra Earring: Padung
They were worn at agricultural ceremonies for planting and harvesting and rites of passage from birth to death including marriage. There are some in the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva. There is a photo in Power and Gold (page 105), Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Prestel-Verlag, 1988.
There is a similar pair, although they have dangling flowers, in the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva. There is a photo in Power and Gold (pages 157), Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Prestel-Verlag, 1988.
The form of these open-oval mamuli-shaped ear ornaments represents a stylized image of female genitalia, made through a lost-wax technique. The impression of arms and legs gives them an anthropomorphic feel.
Background: Tanimbar is an archipelago of 60 – 70 islands in Eastern Indonesia about 300 miles north of Australia and 300 miles southeast of Ambon. Solid pear-shaped earrings called lele butir made through a lost-wax technique. The bottom parts are flat, instead of being round, as usual. Elaborate extensions give the impression of arms and legs. They are used in gift exchange between marriage alliance partners. There is a pair in the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva and a photo of them in Power and Gold (page 302), Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Prestel-Verlag, 1988.
Material: Gold Gold ear ornaments worn by men and women made through a lost-wax technique. Split-ear ornaments are found in various forms in Tanimbar, Sumatra, Sulawesi and the Phillippines. They may all date back to a central Vietnamese form in the 1st millennium BC. In Eastern Indonesia the form is thought to represent the life-giving properties of the female genitalia. There are several variations. They are family heirlooms and are often given by wife-takers to the family of the bride at wedding ceremonies. There is a similar pair in The Art of the Lesser Sundas, the personal collection of Anthony F. Granucci (page 126), Editions Didiet Millet, 2005.
Background: Tanimbar is an archipelago of 60 – 70 islands in Eastern Indonesia about 300 miles north of Australia and 300 miles southeast of Ambon. Gold ear ornaments worn by men and women made through a lost-wax technique. Split-ear ornaments are found in various forms in Tanimbar, Sumatra, Sulawesi and the Phillippines. They may all date back to a central Vietnamese form in the 1st millennium BC. In Eastern Indonesia the form is thought to represent the life-giving properties of the female genitalia. There are several variations. They are family heirlooms and are often given by wife-takers to the family of the bride at wedding ceremonies. There is a similar pair in The Art of the Lesser Sundas, the personal collection of Anthony F. Granucci (page 126).
Sumba Mamuli Earring Background: Mamuli are ear ornaments. Their distinctive outlines in the open oval form 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. This large and splendid gold mamuli with two horsemen would be a holy heirloom passed down through the family under the control of the raja and his priest. Horses are prized possesions in Sumba. There are some mamuli in the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva. There are photos in Power and Gold (pages 292-294), Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Prestel-Verlag, 1988.
Sumatra Minangkabau Ring
Background: The Mingangkabau people live in the inland mountainous regions and hills and plains around Padang on the west coast of Sumatra. They claim descent from Alexander the Great. They are one of the world's few matrilineal societies. Women inherit titles of nobility, houses and rice fields. It is also deeply Islamic. This hollow ring, stained red, could be used to tie a chieftain's headdress in Minangkabau ceremonies. Ceremonies are important and frequent and magnificent ceremonial dress is worn. There is a similar ring in Walk in Splendour, Ceremonial Dress and the Minangkabau, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1999, (Fig 5.6, page 82).
Sumatra Minangkabau Bracelets Material: Wood
Material: Wood, metal, gold leaf
Background: The Mingangkabau people live in the inland mountainous regions and hills and plains around Padang on the west coast of Sumatra. They claim descent from Alexander the Great. They are one of the world's few matrilineal societies. Women inherit titles of nobility, houses and rice fields. It is also deeply Islamic. The thick bracelets called gelang gadang are worn in pairs, one on each wrist. Mothers handed down their bracelets to their daughters when they were about 9 years old. Elaborate bracelets, such as these, were worn at weddings and special occasions. At a wedding a bride may wear as many as eight or nine. The outer surface is gilt. According to the Minangkabau, meanings are encoded in all carving and weaving motifs, though many are no longer remembered. Designs vary. The variety and intricacy of ceremonial bracelets attest to the great skill and artistry of Mingangkabau jewelers.
Timor Bracelet
1 Material: Silver Background: Timor boasts a wide range of silver bracelets. Most are believed to come from the central highlands (Belu). This bracelet with jingling bell was part of a dance costume used in dance ceremonies.
Timor Bracelet
2 Material: Silver Background: A heavy silver bracelet for men called niti maskuna (kuna = teeth). The shape is an open circle. It has a simple base studded with raised silver balls to punch an enemy in hand to hand battle. Also worn as part of a war dance costume and for formal occasions. There is a similar one in the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva. There is a photo in Power and Gold (page 299), Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Prestel-Verlag, 1988.
Timor Bracelet
3 Material: Silver Background: Timor boasts a wide range of silver bracelets. Most are believed to come from the central highlands (Belu).
Timor Bracelet
4 Material: Silver Background: Silver bracelet worn by men or women, probably as part of a dance costume. In an open circle form, it curves inwards in the centre. The top and bottom edges are flat.
Timor Bracelet
5 Material: Silver Background: Timor boasts a wide range of silver bracelets. Most are believed to come from the central highlands (Belu).
Timor Bracelet
6 Material: Silver Background: Timor boasts a wide range of silver bracelets. Most are believed to come from the central highlands (Belu).
Dayak Earrings
Material: Brass Background: Kalimantan was called Borneo before Independence. Many Dayak cultures live inland among Kalimantan’s great rivers. They are hill-farming societies. Long earlobes are a sign of beauty and allow people to wear a major part of their wealth at the same time. Big, heavy, globular-shaped earrings tapering to a point at the bottom worn on extended earlobes were often used as a sign of maturity or marriageable status for women. Brasswork is highly prized by the inland Dayaks. There is a similar pair in the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva. There is a photo in Power and Gold (page 280), Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Prestel-Verlag, 1988.
Ethnic Jewelry
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