Garuda

With Master Carver Sudana in Ubud

Jennifer has written about our souvenirs from our travels, and Nicki of her collectibles, and I thought some of you might be interested in a piece we picked up in Bali, Indonesia in 2004.

As you may know, of all 17,000+ islands that make up Indonesia, only Bali is Hindu with a uniquely Balinese dose of animism thrown in. The rest of the Indonesian islands are all Muslim. On Bali there is an artists' community called Ubud. While exploring various craftsmen's shops there, we came upon a shop featuring local wood carvings. The Balinese are world famous for their stone sculpture and wood carving.

As we wandered around in the modest showroom, every piece that I picked out as being of particular interest or artistic quality, turned out to be the work of one man, Sudana, who was the father of the salesman. We learned that Sudana is considered to be one of the master carvers in Bali. I must admit that I have a "trained eye", but it seemed to me that certain pieces just jumped out at me, as if the artists and I were on the same wavelength.

We decided to purchase one large piece, carved (we were told) from a single block of hibiscus wood (hibiscus apparently grows to tree size in Bali) with no fitted, glued or otherwise attached parts. The image is of Garuda, the Hindu protector god of the Balinese people who appears in the form of a bird, much like the Phoenix in ancient mythology and is the national symbol for both Thailand and Indonesia.

Our Garuda

I've attached a photo of an even larger painted Garuda so you can more easily see the wings, tail, arms and legs, etc. Our Garuda, as you can see, is unpainted, is about three feet tall and is a rich, cherrywood color. If you look carefully at our piece, you can see the tiny figure riding on Garuda's back, which represents the Balinese people being protected from the evil, multi-headed dragon below.

Master Carver Sudana was pleased to have someone who appreciated the work purchase it, and he came down to the shop to meet us. Artists know when they are dealing with people who understand and appreciate their work. He spoke no English and we spoke no Balinese or Indonesian, but the experience became truly one of my prized memories, as you can gather by the expressions on his face and mine.

The painted Garuda

Posted by Jennifer Johnston Smith at 11:13 PM

1 comments:
Nicki Wilcoxson said...
I found your post to be very informative and interesting. I really enjoy "seeing" your travels through your "artist eyes." I love your beautiful Garuda, and I would think that having met the artist, Sudana, face to face makes it all the more valuable to you. I imagine that Garuda and "Humphrey" share places of honor in your home. As a side, I have to laugh when I think of how wonderfully different your collection is from the ones that I have! Let me think--enamelware pots, Garuda and Humphrey--.......Thank you for sharing with us!
April 21, 2008 7:53 AM