BALINESE ART TREASURES OF THE 1940S. THE REDISCOVERY OF A COLLECTION.

This beautifully illustrated book presents a unique collection of modern Balinese art from the 1940s. Formed under difficult circumstances at a time of occupation and revolution, the collection comprises mainly paintings and woodcarvings, as well as silver objects, decorative metalwork and textiles. In all, some 37 artists are represented, some famous, others lesser known or unknown. Among the artists are important members of the pre-war Pita Maha artists association: painters Ida Bagoes Made Nadera, Anak Agoeng Gede Meregeg, Ida Bagoes Made Poleng, I Goesti Ketoet Kobot, Ida Bagoes Made Togog, I Wajan Tohjiwa, I Made Djata, and I Goesti Made Debelog; and woodcarvers Ida Bagoes Njana, Anak Agoeng Gede Raka, and I Tama. Besides the artworks themselves, the book provides the unusual history of this collection. Formed in 1947 by the State of East Indonesia (later part of the Republic of Indonesia), with the support of its Prime Minister, Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung, it was exhibited in Denpasar and Makassar and then in 1948 in Amsterdam under the title Oost-Indonesische Kunst (East Indonesian Art). In 1955 it was left in the care of Amsterdam’s Tropenmuseum.