Featured My collection has just doubled! Java bronze.

Some of you may remember my 'collection' of one miniature East Java bronze, and my desperate search for more:


It is tiny, the front of the plinth is shorter than a regular paperclip. It is a very rare Hindu bronze, made in a folk tradition specific to the town of Gresik in East Java, between ca 1500-1800.
Some people say these Gresik bronzes are even older, Majapahit period, 1293-ca 1500. Not the quality of the usual Majapahit bronzes, but this is folk art.

I am always on the lookout for these little guys, but they only surface from old collections once in a while, and the price is usually above my budget.
This time I was lucky, so the collection has just doubled. And it is a girl, only slightly bigger than the boy. Same period and tradition.

She is wearing a Majapahit style queen's crown and is either a Goddess or a queen. Kings and queens in Hindu Java were regarded as incarnations of Gods and Goddesses, so it is sometimes difficult to tell them apart.
She has armbands and big round earplugs, and a draped shawl tucked into her waistband in the old Javanese fashion.
Her right hand is raised, palm facing outward in a 'fear not' protective gesture. The relatively big size of the hand is probably deliberate, to emphasize her protective nature.



Back, with paper clip for size. The maker's fingerprint can still be seen on the patch in her neck.
I don't know if the patch is part of the design or if it was put there to strengthen her tiny neck. She is made in the lost wax technique, and a piece of wax as thin as a tiny neck may not hold that crowned head.


From the side it looks like part of the design


She has the wonderful feel of very old bronze, that very smooth, tactile quality


Anyway, I am very happy with her and had to share of course.

 

Thanks, Book.

They are now side by side, standing (and sitting) strong among some other small antique Asian bronzes. They look happy.

 

I know nothing about these figures, but share your happiness. Amazing!

 

Happiness for AJ is...................

Congratulations to you AJ!

The love for your new acquisition comes through loud and clear.....respectively I might add!

 

Thanks Ghopper.

 

So tiny, and so old!!! I was stumped by the paperclip size comparison

Happy, happy for you and the little couple to be reunited

 

Oh congratulations, she is lovely!

 

These little figures were usually found on building sites etc. They are still found occasionally, Gresik has now almost merged with the city of Surabaya, so a lot of building sites.

I think she is lovely too, a very special rustic charm. And the maker's fingerprint brings the past so close to us.

 

The maker's fingerprint makes me want to weep with glee.

 

We all need a friend
They must be like looking for hens teeth!

 

They are! I scrutinize every tiny antique bronze I come across. I think I am developing a squint.

 

Congratulations on your new collection! (I think a collection is two or more items?)

 

She can but hope ... and keep looking! Score!

 

Congrats AJ, what a fabulous find they are so tiny, I'm sure they would be easy to lose

lol

 

Nice going, AJ...congrats! And very nice photography as well.

 

Thank you, and you're absolutely right. Boudicca had a thread about a small collection, and I asked her if my little fellow and my wish for more could count as a collection. Well, now I have a collection. Of two.

Thank you. This little lady was listed as antique Burmese. They got the antique part right.

And she does! With some patience, but that is how collecting goes.

 

Thanks, cx, they are tiny, which adds to their charm, at least to me.

Thanks, sabre. I am not the world's greatest photographer, but no complaints from the little bronze lady.