Material: Gold, palm leaf
Style: Makassar, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Size: Height 8.5 cm, Length 19 cm
Order Number: MHSAMS1

Songko are Buginese male moslem hats.This one has gold and would have been owned by royalty.

Islam was introduced by Minangkabau missionaries from Sumatra and a history of extensive Malay settlement in the major trading city of Makassar, now Ujung Pandang, in the south.

Makassar, the capital of the kingdom of Gowa, was an important entrepot for cloves and nutmeg traded from the very small islands of  Ternate and Tidore in the Moluccas. The city also became a city of Islamic scholarship.

There is a photograph of a man wearing a similar one in The Jewelry of Southeast Asia, Ann Richter, Thames & Hudson, 2000, page 171.

80-90 years old.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

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Material: Gold, palm leaf
Style: Makassar, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Size: Height 9 cm, Length 18 cm
Order Number: MHSAMS2

Songko are Buginese male moslem hats. This one has gold and would have been owned by royalty.

Islam was introduced by Minangkabau missionaries from Sumatra and a history of extensive Malay settlement in the major trading city of Makassar, now Ujung Pandang, in the south.

Makassar, the capital of the kingdom of Gowa, was an important entrepot for cloves and nutmeg traded from the very small islands of  Ternate and Tidore in the Moluccas. The city also became a city of Islamic scholarship.

There is a photograph of a man wearing a similar one in The Jewelry of Southeast Asia, Ann Richter, Thames & Hudson, 2000, page 171.

80-90 years old.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Makassar Songko 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Wood, gold leaf
Style: Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Diameter 18 cm
Order Number: MHSAME5

When the Minangkabau converted to Islam,  they kept their traditional law and matrilineal social organisation. They remain strongly Moslem and have blended the two systems. Property and inheritance follows the female line, but maintenance of adat, the traditional law, smooth running of society and settlement of disputes is the responsibility of senior men. Many events call for ceremonies.

In early days wooden headdresses (saluak datu batimbo kayu) were intricately carved, hollow and lightweight in imitation of folded cloth headdresses and then decorated with gold leaf. This one has clearly been used and has a crack. They have not been worn for many years and are mostly in private collections and museums.

There is a similar one in Gold Jewelry of the Indonesian Archipelago, Anne Richter and Bruce Carpenter, Editions Didier Millet 2011, page 281.

About 70-80 years.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

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Material: Gold-plated
Style: Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Height 50 cm, Width 42 cm
Order Number: MHSAMSBC1

When the Minangkabau converted to Islam,  they kept their traditional law and matrilineal social organisation. They remain strongly Moslem and have blended the two systems. Property and inheritance follows the female line, but maintenance of adat, the traditional law, smooth running of society and settlement of disputes is the responsibility of senior men. Many events call for ceremonies.

Minangkabau Bride and Groom.

The most elaborate head ornament is the suntiang worn by a bride at her wedding. If a woman does not have a large head of hair, a bun made of hair or finely cut pandanus leaves is attached to her hair to  support it. The most complex ones consist of a golden semicircle to which many gold or gilded ornaments are attached. Sprays of small real or cloth flowers are added.

Arranging this many-pieced crown takes well over an hour and is an art in itself. It weighs many pounds and the bride has to wear it for hours during the wedding ceremony and reception. Maybe this is the reason Minangkabau brides never smile!

Map of Minangkabau.

Mid 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Minangkabau Suntiang Bridal Crown 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Gold-plated
Style: Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Height 42 cm, Width 35 cm
Order Number: MHSAMSBC2

When the Minangkabau converted to Islam,  they kept their traditional law and matrilineal social organisation. They remain strongly Moslem and have blended the two systems. Property and inheritance follows the female line, but maintenance of adat, the traditional law, smooth running of society and settlement of disputes is the responsibility of senior men. Many events call for ceremonies.

Minangkabau Bride and Groom.

The most elaborate head ornament is the suntiang worn by a bride at her wedding. If a woman does not have a large head of hair, a bun made of hair or finely cut pandanus leaves is attached to her hair to  support it. The most complex ones consist of a golden semicircle to which many gold or gilded ornaments are attached. Sprays of small real or cloth flowers are added.

Arranging this many-pieced crown takes well over an hour and is an art in itself. It weighs many pounds and the bride has to wear it for hours during the wedding ceremony and reception. Maybe this is the reason Minangkabau brides never smile!

Map of Minangkabau.

Mid 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Minangkabau Suntiang Bridal Crown 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Gold-plated
Style: Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Height 48 cm, Width 35 cm
Order Number: MHSAMSBC3

When the Minangkabau converted to Islam,  they kept their traditional law and matrilineal social organisation. They remain strongly Moslem and have blended the two systems. Property and inheritance follows the female line, but maintenance of adat, the traditional law, smooth running of society and settlement of disputes is the responsibility of senior men. Many events call for ceremonies.

Minangkabau Bride and Groom.

The most elaborate head ornament is the suntiang worn by a bride at her wedding. If a woman does not have a large head of hair, a bun made of hair or finely cut pandanus leaves is attached to her hair to  support it. The most complex ones consist of a golden semicircle to which many gold or gilded ornaments are attached. Sprays of small real or cloth flowers are added.

Arranging this many-pieced crown takes well over an hour and is an art in itself. It weighs many pounds and the bride has to wear it for hours during the wedding ceremony and reception. Maybe this is the reason Minangkabau brides never smile!

Map of Minangkabau.

Mid 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Minangkabau Suntiang Bridal Crown 3 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Gold foil, velvet, cotton
Style: Solok, Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Length 61 cm, Width 23 cm
Order Number: MHSAME4

When the Minangkabau converted to Islam,  they kept their traditional law and matrilineal social organisation. They remain strongly Moslem and have blended the two systems. Property and inheritance follows the female line, but maintenance of adat, the traditional law, smooth running of society and settlement of disputes is the responsibility of senior men. Many events call for ceremonies.

Solok (meaningvalley) is a city in West Sumatra, Indonesia.

Embellished Minangkabau Velvet Collar: Long collars with foil images of jewelry stitched or glued on to velvet were worn by women in the southern area of Solok. The gold foil includes imitation gold coins, ear and pectoral ornaments and the back section of the distinctive Solok bridal crown.

There is a similar one in Gold Jewelry of the Indonesian Archipelago, Anne Richter and Bruce Carpenter, Editions Didier Millet 2011, page 293.

19th century or early 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Minangkabau Velvet Collar appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver buckle, padded ikat belt with coloured glass
Style: Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Buckle: length 25 cm, width 12 cm; Belt: length 70 cm, width 12.5 cm
Order Number: TACD0

The waist buckle (pending) was a part of Malay ceremonial dress and displayed the wearer’s social status, worn mostly by men, but occasionally by women, above the navel, with a cloth sash and belt to hold up the sarong, at ceremonial events, especially weddings. The back had a clasp attached to the belt and it was shaped like a lozenge, usually with pointed ends.

The buckle was made of brass, silver or gold. Royalty wore gold buckles decorated with precious stones. Rich, but non-royal people, wore silver. The rest wore brass.

The idea probably came from the Ottoman Empire, which traded with  the Sultan of Aceh and other sultans in the area.

Typically the pattern is a central circle, with surrounding  foliate motifs, all within an outer border at the edge of the buckle. The central eye may be a talisman to ward off the evil eye, the very central part resembling the pupil.

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 matrilinear societies. Women inherit titles of nobility, houses and rice fields. It is also deeply Islamic.

Ceremonies are important and frequent, and magnificent ceremonial dress is worn. Islam began to spread into Sumatra in the late 13th century and the influence is seen in the arabesques and foliage.

There are many examples in Malay Silver and Gold, Courtly Splendour from Indonesia, Malayasia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand, Michael Backman, River Books, 2024, pages 214-223.

The chapter entitled Malay Waist Buckles, Allegories of Paradise, says at page 216, ‘Almost all are chased and engraved with motifs which can be interpreted as a stylised version of Paradise. This is a new way of looking at the iconography of the Malay buckle, but it is entirely plausible. Vegetation and gardens are all redolent of light, and for many Muslims, light is an extension of God, while vegetation and gardens  – so dependent on light – are by implication an extension.’

Islam began to spread into Sumatra in the late 13th century and the influence is seen in the arabesques and foliage.

Niello was a specialty. The metalwork is very fine. The decorative patterns are cut into the front surface of the silver. The background is then cut back further, roughened and filled with a preparation of lead, copper, silver and sulphur in powder form, which melts when heated.

Polishing helps in creating a smooth surface of black and silver. Sumatran niello often has a very grey color and great sheen because there is a high silver content. Niello work was carried out in Sumatra until the early 20th century, but very little is produced now.

Impressive size and exquisite niello work make this an outstanding example of a Minangkabau man’s belt or ikek pinggang. The padded ikat belt is still attached, which is rare. One or more layered central plaques in the buckle mark the social status of the owner.

There is a similar belt and buckle in Walk in Splendour, Ceremonial Dress and the Minangkabau, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1999, (Fig 5.46, page 95).

19th century – early 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Sumatran Belt and Buckle appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia.
Size: Length 22 cm, Width 13.5 cm
Order Number: MHSTACD0

The waist buckle (pending) was a part of Malay ceremonial dress and displayed the wearer’s social status, worn mostly by men, but occasionally by women, above the navel, with a cloth sash and belt to hold up the sarong, at ceremonial events, especially weddings. The back had a clasp attached to the belt and it was shaped like a lozenge, usually with pointed ends.

The buckle was made of brass, silver or gold. Royalty wore gold buckles decorated with precious stones. Rich, but non-royal people, wore silver. The rest wore brass.

The idea probably came from the Ottoman Empire, which traded with  the Sultan of Aceh and other sultans in the area.

Typically the pattern is a central circle, with surrounding  foliate motifs, all within an outer border at the edge of the buckle. The central eye may be a talisman to ward off the evil eye, the very central part resembling the pupil.

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 matrilinear societies. Women inherit titles of nobility, houses and rice fields. It is also deeply Islamic.

Ceremonies are important and frequent, and magnificent ceremonial dress is worn. Islam began to spread into Sumatra in the late 13th century and the influence is seen in the arabesques and foliage.

There are many examples in Malay Silver and Gold, Courtly Splendour from Indonesia, Malayasia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand, Michael Backman, River Books, 2024, pages 214-223.

The chapter entitled Malay Waist Buckles, Allegories of Paradise, says at page 216, ‘Almost all are chased and engraved with motifs which can be interpreted as a stylised version of Paradise. This is a new way of looking at the iconography of the Malay buckle, but it is entirely plausible. Vegetation and gardens are all redolent of light, and for many Muslims, light is an extension of God, while vegetation and gardens  – so dependent on light – are by implication an extension.’

Early 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Sumatran Belt Buckle 6 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Metal
Style: Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Height 33 cm (in the centre), Width 51 cm
Order Number: MHSAMSBC4

When the Minangkabau converted to Islam,  they kept their traditional law and matrilineal social organisation. They remain strongly Moslem and have blended the two systems. Property and inheritance follows the female line, but maintenance of adat, the traditional law, smooth running of society and settlement of disputes is the responsibility of senior men. Many events call for ceremonies.

Minangkabau Bride and Groom.

The most elaborate head ornament is the suntiang worn by a bride at her wedding. If a woman does not have a large head of hair, a bun made of hair or finely cut pandanus leaves is attached to her hair to  support it. The most complex ones consist of a golden semicircle to which many gold or gilded ornaments are attached. Sprays of small real or cloth flowers are added.

Arranging this many-pieced crown takes well over an hour and is an art in itself. It weighs many pounds and the bride has to wear it for hours during the wedding ceremony and reception. Maybe this is the reason Minangkabau brides never smile!

Map of Minangkabau.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Minangkabau Suntiang Bridal Crown 4 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Metal
Style: Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Height 30 cm (in the centre), Width 47 cm
Order Number: MHSAMSBC5

When the Minangkabau converted to Islam,  they kept their traditional law and matrilineal social organisation. They remain strongly Moslem and have blended the two systems. Property and inheritance follows the female line, but maintenance of adat, the traditional law, smooth running of society and settlement of disputes is the responsibility of senior men. Many events call for ceremonies.

Minangkabau Bride and Groom.

The most elaborate head ornament is the suntiang worn by a bride at her wedding. If a woman does not have a large head of hair, a bun made of hair or finely cut pandanus leaves is attached to her hair to  support it. The most complex ones consist of a golden semicircle to which many gold or gilded ornaments are attached. Sprays of small real or cloth flowers are added.

Arranging this many-pieced crown takes well over an hour and is an art in itself. It weighs many pounds and the bride has to wear it for hours during the wedding ceremony and reception. Maybe this is the reason Minangkabau brides never smile!

Map of Minangkabau.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Minangkabau Suntiang Bridal Crown 5 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.