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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Any Jewelry, post: 367708, member: 2844&quot;]Welcome to the forum, JoshA.</p><p>A very nice buy for a dollar, I love it.<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie49" alt=":happy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>You got the country right, Indonesia. The script is the old Javanese script called Kawi. Kawi is also used on Bali, since Bali has a Javanese culture superimposed on the native Balinese culture.</p><p>But forget about Bali, this is classic East Javanese.</p><p>It is a lotus shaped kundika, or ritual water vessel, with a Naga or dragon spout and handle. It is missing a lid, which would have had a figure of the Buddha on top.</p><p>The lotus and the Naga are among the most powerful symbols in Hinduism and Buddhism, and Asian culture in general.</p><p>Your kundika is made in the style of antique Javanese Buddhist vessels, but it doesn&#039;t look antique to me. It looks too heavy, the seams don&#039;t look good, and the surface has blobs etc, which the antique ones don&#039;t have. And it looks a bit too antique, if you get what I mean.</p><p>It was probably made in East Java, the centre of the medieval Majapahit empire. Manufacture of Hindu-Buddhist items continued even after the introduction of Islam, and there are 19th century Majapahit style bronzes. Those are antique, but not of the actual period.</p><p>It is still a local craft, now mainly made for tourists.</p><p>The red stuff in the spout is not rust but local red clay. They bury the new ones to make them look old, after they have aged them with acid.</p><p>Some Majapahit Nagas were in bad need of an orthodontist, like this gorgeous terracotta example:</p><p><img src="https://www.esotericstuff.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/S_0789_01.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://www.esotericstuff.com/go/terracotta-majapahit-empire-16th-century-naga-dragon-head-eastern-java-near-trawulan/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.esotericstuff.com/go/terracotta-majapahit-empire-16th-century-naga-dragon-head-eastern-java-near-trawulan/" rel="nofollow">https://www.esotericstuff.com/go/terracotta-majapahit-empire-16th-century-naga-dragon-head-eastern-java-near-trawulan/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is an example of an East Javanese lotus kundika with Buddha lid:</p><p><img src="https://i.etsystatic.com/il/e1d0c3/810159327/il_570xN.810159327_cttu.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/242413717/antique-javanese-bronze-buddha-dragon?ref=related-1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/242413717/antique-javanese-bronze-buddha-dragon?ref=related-1" rel="nofollow">https://www.etsy.com/listing/242413717/antique-javanese-bronze-buddha-dragon?ref=related-1</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Josh, it doesn&#039;t look antique to me, but I don&#039;t have it here to see, feel and smell.</p><p>Just to be sure, you could have it looked at by someone who knows Majapahit bronzes. There are museums in the US which have Majapahit and other antique Javanese bronzes in their collection, that is where you need to ask. Don&#039;t ask an antique dealer or auctioneer, they wouldn&#039;t know Majapahit or the current replicas. It is too niche for them.</p><p><br /></p><p>Old or new, I love it, I love most Majapahit related things. And this one has charm.</p><p>I am a descendant of the Majapahit kings and formidable queens. I have some Majapahit bronze replicas myself. I am also fortunate to have inherited some Majapahit terracottas, and have a small collection of wonderful Majapahit keris (ceremonial daggers).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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