Wayang painting

RSWORD · 4th October 2015, 03:54 AM

They vary in size but on average they are 50' long and 31" wide. In researching these I ran across the possibility of wayang beber but I couldn't find much information about them particularly many examples. They don't seem too common.

A. G. Maisey · 4th October 2015, 08:54 AM

No, not common, as I said, wayang beber is all but dead.

If your paintings are fifty feet long, I'd say almost certainly wayang beber scrolls, unwound as the dalang tells the story.

RSWORD · 4th October 2015, 12:38 PM

That was a typo on my part. 50" long. Do you know what type of script is used on the 2 examples that are signed?

A. G. Maisey · 4th October 2015, 08:38 PM

50 inches" ?

In that case I'd say it is fairly current work done as a wall decoration. Pity.

Script is hanacaraka ("a" is pronounced as a back of throat "a", sounds like "o"), Javanese script, or "aksara Jawa". I cannot read this. I can figure it out by using references and a bit of guess work. Quite difficult these days to find somebody who can read it fluently.

Couple of online references:-

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/javanese.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javanese_script

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=h...odVfMGdQ&dpr=1

http://www.gimonca.com/indonesia/huruf_jawa.html

Bear in mind that as with any script the letters are often given variant forms by individual writers, so you need to have some background and do a bit of guessing.

RSWORD · 6th October 2015, 12:05 PM

Thank you for the references and identification of the script. I had suspected the paintings were fairly recent. Strictly judging from the wear patterns from the cloth being folded along with the amount of thinning to the material and I would guess early to mid 20th century. This seems to line up with both the decline in use of the script as well as the art form itself.

4th October 2015, 03:54 AM	#1
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,093	They vary in size but on average they are 50' long and 31" wide. In researching these I ran across the possibility of wayang beber but I couldn't find much information about them particularly many examples. They don't seem too common.

4th October 2015, 08:54 AM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	No, not common, as I said, wayang beber is all but dead. If your paintings are fifty feet long, I'd say almost certainly wayang beber scrolls, unwound as the dalang tells the story.

4th October 2015, 12:38 PM	#3
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,093	That was a typo on my part. 50" long. Do you know what type of script is used on the 2 examples that are signed?

4th October 2015, 08:38 PM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	50 inches" ? In that case I'd say it is fairly current work done as a wall decoration. Pity. Script is hanacaraka ("a" is pronounced as a back of throat "a", sounds like "o"), Javanese script, or "aksara Jawa". I cannot read this. I can figure it out by using references and a bit of guess work. Quite difficult these days to find somebody who can read it fluently. Couple of online references:- http://www.omniglot.com/writing/javanese.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javanese_script https://www.google.com.au/search?q=h...odVfMGdQ&dpr=1 http://www.gimonca.com/indonesia/huruf_jawa.html Bear in mind that as with any script the letters are often given variant forms by individual writers, so you need to have some background and do a bit of guessing.

6th October 2015, 12:05 PM	#5
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,093	Thank you for the references and identification of the script. I had suspected the paintings were fairly recent. Strictly judging from the wear patterns from the cloth being folded along with the amount of thinning to the material and I would guess early to mid 20th century. This seems to line up with both the decline in use of the script as well as the art form itself.