Featured Balinese (?) Wooden Figure

Hi,
I am not sure if this is "tribal" but could you please help me to identify who is the person shown here? And how old would this carving be? Thank you very much!

 

We need @Any Jewelry to know who it might be.

Can't begin to do a good job of determining age from a single pic. Need to show normally unexposed surfaces - back, underneath, top. And size to indicate how finely carved it is.

Based on this single pic from the front of unknown size with little paint age - I would guess 1980's at the earliest, or later in 20th century.

 

Hi Mat, he is lovely, and yes, Balinese. Could we see what he is holding in his left hand?
I suspect he is a (deified?) former ruler of one of the Balinese kingdoms, which means difficult to identify if you are not from that particular part of Bali. He could be mid-20th century.

Although the Bali Aga minority, the 'real Balinese', is considered tribal by some, most of Bali is a Javanese influenced mix of people from several nations, and non-tribal. The Balinese art we see in the West is nearly all made by these Javanese influenced Balinese, so not tribal.

Tribal is a difficult term when referring to Indonesian cultures. Firstly, the Indonesian language doesn't differentiate between tribal and non-tribal.
A general rule for Westerners when discussing Indonesian culture is that the historic or presently recognized states, so kingdoms, sultanates, and princely states, are not tribal. That means most of the population of Indonesia.
Terminology for the non-former state Indonesians is also difficult, because there are people who live in family groups, without a tribal structure.

 

Thank you very much! I am not sure what the item in his hand is, here is a detail picture. I will post more pictures of the figure later....

 

You're welcome.
He is holding a branch or flower, but not a lotus. I'll do some searching.
The detail you posted makes me think he could be a bit older than mid-20th. Looking forward to more photos.

 

Here are some more pictures:

 

Still don't know the size. But this is why it is so important to show the unexposed surfaces. Based on your last two pics, these are definitely in roughly the 1980's/90's time frame.

 

Thank you Jeff Drum, size is about 33 cm.

 

Thanks for the extra photos, Mat.
I haven't been able to find out more about the branch he is holding. He is typical of the traditional depictions of governors or kings though. In the 14th and 15th centuries Bali was a colony of the East Javanese Majapahit Empire. In those days Bali was ruled by governors. After the desintegration of Majapahit, the Balinese-Javanese ruling families fought amongst each other, which led to separate kingdoms being created.
I believe there were originally nine separate kingdoms, which often fought each other. That is why it could be difficult to identify this ruler if you are not from the relevant part of Bali. I still think he is mid-20th century though.

 

It's certainly possible, but I'll show you why I think it is consistent with work from the 80's/90's. I first encountered carvings from Bali in a small import shop in lower east side of NYC when I was visiting my sister in the 80's, was blown away by the striking paint colors and bought a couple of pieces very much like this. At the time I didn't care about getting antiques, I just loved the work (and the fact that it was ridiculously inexpensive helped too).

But even better, I recently got several reference pieces from an estate cleanout of a world traveller who bought tourist items in his travels and marked all of his purchases with the country and the year made/bought. He wasn't buying antiques, but tourist items. This piece is marked Bali 1986, shares the coloration and close enough to look to me like it could have been from the same batch:

 

Thank you very much, Any Jewelry, for your help! Jeff Drum, thank you for showing the example of 1980s production! Certainly the colours are similar, but I see a difference in quality of the carving and of wear. So I tend to think that he is a bit older than 1980s...

 

I'm sorry to have to say this, but that is an 'antiqued' souvenir. There are many like yours in home decor shops here.
Sure, the colours are also traditional, but that doesn't make your carving of a similar age as other traditionally coloured carvings.

A carving like Mat's is much more difficult to find, and the difference in quality and value between the two is considerable. The paints used are also different, Mat's being thicker, and again, of better quality and with good base coats.

I agree 100%.
I still think mid-century. That was the period when interest in the old style polychrome statues was revived, without them being made for a Western taste for the 'exotic'.