Featured Indonesian sirih / betel 'table', help please.

Discussion in 'Antique Discussion' started by Any Jewelry, Sep 10, 2022.

  1. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    I have a delightful Indonesian sirih presentation table on wheels, designed to be rolled to guests when offering sirih. Sirih is Indonesian for betel.
    It is wood with carved wooden and woven panels, and four wooden wheels on two axles.
    The compartments are for sirih parafernalia, and for herbs and spices so you can assemble your preferred taste.
    It looks vintage, rather than antique.

    I would like to know on which island it was made.
    Sirih tables and boxes on wheels are said to have originated on Madura, but they can be found as far away as Mindanao, Philippines.
    The carving on this one could be Madurese, but I have never seen a Madurese sirih presentation table like this, most are brass, silver or gold.
    I wonder if it could be from Lombok, with carving inspiration from the islands further west (Bali-Java-Madura).

    Approximate size:
    Front 25 cm / 9.84"
    Side 19 cm / 7.48"
    Height 14.5 cm / 5.7"

    I don't have many photos, but I hope these are sufficient.
    Current inhabitants have nothing to do with sirih, except for that gorgeous little brass box, which is Minangkabau from Sumatra.

    Tagging @Taupou and @2manybooks , but of course any help is welcome.:)

    Thank you for looking.

    upload_2022-9-10_15-12-44.jpeg

    Detail of the carving, the knob at the bottom is an end of one of the axles. Steel or iron nails:

    upload_2022-9-10_15-14-16.jpeg

    Woven panel (bamboo? rattan?) and small burn mark on the wood, not an issue to me. Wooden dowels:

    upload_2022-9-10_15-16-5.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2022
  2. silverbell

    silverbell Well-Known Member

    AJ - you have to be kidding! Sirih table aside, WHAT is that creature located in the lower right recess? Looks like a cross between a Foo Dog and a Buddha?!
     
  3. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    The blueish things? Those are jatim beads, glass 'millefiore' beads from East Java. Five round beads on a string, sitting on top of some smaller plain beads. But they could look a but strange if you don't know what you're looking at.:wideyed: Apologies for the scare.:shy:
     
    NewEngland, judy and kyratango like this.
  4. silverbell

    silverbell Well-Known Member

    A "bit strange" doesn't exactly cover it, but thank you, AJ.
     
    NewEngland, judy and kyratango like this.
  5. Boland

    Boland Well-Known Member

    A very interesting and intriguing item. Personally I would have guessed ‘antique’ and bamboo panel (but I really don’t know much) I do know that this table is exactly the type of thing that everyone else would have been asking you about..
     
    judy, Any Jewelry, komokwa and 2 others like this.
  6. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    I'm down with bamboo, also.
     
    Any Jewelry likes this.
  7. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Thank you Boland and komo.:happy:
    :hilarious: Well, I do know what it's for and which part of the world it is from, that's a start.:playful:
     
    judy, Boland and komokwa like this.
  8. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    judy likes this.
  9. 2manybooks

    2manybooks Well-Known Member

    So sorry. I was hoping Taupou would take this on. I am afraid my knowledge (?) of things Indonesian is not detailed enough to be helpful in this instance. As @Boland said,
     
    judy and Any Jewelry like this.
  10. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Thank you for looking anyway.:) If you and I don't know, it is a truly difficult thing to ID.;)
    I know!:playful:
     
    2manybooks likes this.
  11. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    @silverbell , I'm glad that you put "silver" at the beginning of your username. Assuming that this is a new identity for silverthorn/e/s? :)

    If I'm mistaken, apologies to you!
     
    Any Jewelry and silverbell like this.
  12. silverbell

    silverbell Well-Known Member

    Fig: C'est moi. I have a very odd computer. It has moods, gets ill at the drop of a teacup, has severe slither problems, and it frequently requires professional help -- which is sometimes very hard to come by.

    Recently, Isaac came to my rescue. I asked him to virginize my little beast. He more or less did. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

    However, it (the computer) is now v e r y
    s l o w. (A persistent condition, now worsened, with which I have been all too familiar.) However, I look at it this way, its snailish times enable me to replenish my coffee cup, read my mail, buff my nails, water the plants, etc. :)

    So, I am Silver...something...slightly shaded toward my mood at the time. (as in "thorn" as opposed to "bell".)
     
    Figtree3, Boland, kentworld and 3 others like this.
  13. Bakersgma

    Bakersgma Well-Known Member

    :hilarious: You're still your classy and snappy self!! :joyful:
     
    komokwa and Any Jewelry like this.
  14. silverbell

    silverbell Well-Known Member

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