Product Description

Antique Javanese Betel Set 1

Material: Brass, wooden tray
Style: East Java, Indonesia
Size: Large bowl: Diameter 30 cm; 3 Small bowls: Diameter 10 cm; Pestle: Length 11 cm; Lime Pot: Height 5 cm, Diameter 8.5 cm; Betel Leaf Container: Height 12.5 cm, Length 13 cm, Width 8 cm (top), Length 7 cm, Width 5 cm (base)
Order Number: MHSAJBS1

Betel chewing was widespread in Bali and offered to guests as a sign of welcome. It was – and is still – offered to the gods and ancestors in ceremonies.

The basic ingredients are betel leaf, areca nut and lime powder. Gambir and tobacco may be added  to make it more fragrant.

The containers and implements included boxes of various shapes and sizes to store the betel nuts,  betel leaf holders for the already prepared betel quid, lime pots, hinged cutters , similar to scissors, to cut the hard areca nut, knives to cut the softer nuts, pounders to crush the nut, salve boxes to hold beeswax for the lips, spittoons, tobacco pouches and trays on which they all were displayed.

The betel pounder was like a mortar and pestle. It came in various sizes and its purpose was to crush the areca nut into a soft substance for the elderly or those who had no teeth and could not chew the hard nut. The pounder was a long metal instrument with a handle and sharpened tip, which pressed down on the nut inside a tall hollow cylinder.

This would have been owned by a member of the royal family.

About 80-90 years.

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