Mask

Balinese masks (topeng) are seen most often in the scores of regular dance performances in special tourist venues all over southern Bali, as well as in restaurants and hotels. For ritual purposes, the Balinese use masks most often when celebrating temple birthdays. With over 20,000 temples on Bali, each with a different birthday every 210 days, there is ample opportunity to see topeng in action. Masks are also displayed “officially” in processions and trance rituals.

The most difficult part of the carving is removing the back, which usually takes a day and a half. Carving out the nose and getting around the knots can also be very time-consuming. The sandpapering of the average mask lasts about four hours. A plain natural wooden mask only takes around five days to treat because it is protected with just three layers of neutral shoe polish. On a painted mask, however, up to 80 coats (maximum number of coats in one day is four) are applied. This is really arduous work because the piece is held between the feet. For paint, calcified pigbone is used. It’s pulverized for 12 hours to make a powder, then mixed with Chinese lacquer.

Finally, real hair and gold leaf may be used to embellish the mask. Once the mask is finished and before it is used by a dancer for the first time, a traditional ceremony is performed by a priest to remove the carver’s spirit from the mask, enabling the dancer’s spirit to enter.

A very good introduction to Balinese ‘wayang topeng’ can be found in Masks of Bali (Chronicle Books, 1992) by Judy Slattum (photographs by Paul Schraub). This beautiful picture book includes 50 stunning photographs of Balinese masks, the first mask history, explanations on the process of making ritual masks, and the specific types and functions of making Balinese masks. Anyone who is shopping for a mask, or who already owns one, can find in this book the type of character it represents and for which rituals it is used. For more complete information on Balinese wayang topeng, see under “The Performing Arts” section of this chapter.

Tenget (Sacred)
In Bali, objects such as trees, rocks, houses, boats, and the like are commonly consider to have special power, and these spirits, as with all forces in the universe, can be turned toward good or evil depending upon how the object itself is treated and how one feels toward it.

The spirit of the object may have good and bad aspects. They go hand and hand. There is no such thing as absolute good and absolute evil. Both are part and parcel of the same entity. And, if the spirit is mostly good, it deserves offerings and prayers too, so that it will not upset the word’s equilibrium. There is no point in taking chances. The powers and forces of the universe are too great to ignore or disregards. Better safe with offering and prayers than sorry with disruption, imbalance, bed feelings, and disaster.

The most important masks are sacred, pure, charged with a religious power that Balinese call ‘tenget’ and are always kept out of sight in a temple or a shrine when not in use. Offerings must be made to sacred masks at every full moon, new moon, every 15 days on the day called Kajeng Kliwon and of course, when the mask is performed. A ‘tenget’ object keeps its power permanently. This is in contrast to some Balinese religious objects that are considered sacred only when God or the part of the spirit of God that represents the deified ancestors are invited to occupy these objects, called ‘Pratimas’. When the special ceremonies for God and his spirits are over, they are invited to depart to heaven, and the power of the ‘pratima’ disappears. Not so with masks that are ‘tenget’. They remain powerful.

Sacred masks must be made from crocodile wood (pule), a tree that grows in cemeteries, the domain of the goddess Rangda. The whole tree isn’t cut down. When the pule tree produces a knot, the maskmaker asks the spirit of the tree to be allowed to take the knot for a mask.

Most masks are not sacred and holy. But, they are still generally handled with great care and respect. They are never kept in low places where someone might step over them. They are not allowed to be handled by just anyone. They are usually kept wrapped inside a box or a cloth bag rather than hang up on a wall as decorations. Once every 210 days, usually on the day called Tumpek Wayang on the Saturday of week of the 30 week Balinese calendar, special offerings are made to all masks that are used in dance dramas. This is the same day that ceremonies are performed for the “Wayang Kulit’ puppets. And in fact, traditional masks are treated almost exactly the same as are the puppets, since both portray characters that are either themselves sacred, or, at the very least, participate in sacred dance dramas. This day for making offerings to masks in different parts of Bali. Sometimes it is done on Tumpek Krulut, Saturday of the 17th week of the 210 days calendar.

A ‘tenget’ mask is thought of as being actually alive – not just a carved and painted piece of wood. When the performer puts on such a mask, this power enters his body, and he actually becomes the person or god portrayed by the mask. He is no longer himself, he assumes the identity of the mask and its personality and behavior.

Notable Maskcarvers
Sometimes the power of such a mask is so great that a performer can not cope with it. He falls into an uncontrollable trance, not able to stand or act, and he has to be revived by a priest with holy water and sacred mantras. Some masks are so powerful that only those performers with great internal power themselves dare of high priests, ‘pedanda’s, actually falling dead while bringing an especially important and sacred mask to life. Masks that are not given their proper treatment, respect, and regular offerings are commonly reported to cause imbalance, trouble, sickness, and uneasy feelings to the owner. It is not an easy job to own a ‘tenget’ mask.

Theoretically, any mask can be made or can become ‘tenget’. Most masks are simply kept in special places, treated with respect, and not exposed to improper treatment. They are not ‘tenget’. The few really sacred ones that have been brought to life in a special ceremony usually conducted by a ‘pedanda’. Must be accorded the respect and attention due any holy objects – kept secluded except when in use, often in a temple, and never, under any circumstances, exposed to impure or unclean actions or situations.

Cokorda Raka Tisnu and I Wayan Tangguh are perhaps the most accomplished traditional maskmakers working on Bali. I Wayan Tedun of Singapadu and I Wayan Muka and I.B. Anom of Mas also do good work. Prices for top quality masks run from Rp75,000 to Rp150,000, depending on the style, the wood and paint used, etc.

Oka Trevelyan Mask Makers was created by David Trevelyan – a Canadian artist – and Ida Bagus Oka, a master carver from Mas. The result of this remarkable fusion of talents from two different cultures is Tlingit Indian-style masks found in the northwestern United States. Visit their showroom in Mas in front of Anom’s.

Besides Mas, the village of Puaya near Sukawati is a maskmaking center. Many shops along Ubud’s Monkey Forest Road and Kuta’s Jl. Legian sell attractive masks. Also, visit the Bali Museum to see a fine collection of Balinese topeng, and in the Mangkunegaran Palace of Yogya is a very complete collection of famous topeng from Bali.

I Wayan Tangguh
Wayan Tangguh is a 50 years old mask maker from Singapadu village, Gianyar regency. He is very clever at making masks. No wonder all his masks are bought by tourists. His name “Tangguh” is derived from Balinese word that means clever. He never admits himself if that he is a sculptor but he prefers to be called a farmer.

At first, his aim was to make masks for the temple ceremonies such as: Rahwana, Rama, Rangda, Banaspati and Barong Ket (Name of mask). Most of them are used for temples because they are considered as sacred masks. It eventually becomes a business. Because of his talent in making masks many people come to him for masks.

The unique thing about Wayan Tangguh’s masks is the color. He used colors from the natural environment. For instants he uses the color white not from paint but from the color of pig bone. The mask material itself is also taken from natural material.

That is why he becomes a famous mask maker in Gianyar regency. When asked about a mask price, he just keeps smiling. He says that it will depend on the production and term of making the mask, and the material itself.

Wood Carving

There are two main types of woodcarving. Traditional carvings, in the form of intricate bas-relief tableaux and plaques, are used mainly for decorating doors, walls and columns. Small, highly standardized wooden statues of deities and mythical heroes are also produced, designed for use in public buildings. The second type is contemporary woodcarving, first developed in the 1930s. Themes usually include highly stylized human or animal figures, often grotesque, almost psychotic-expressing so well the Balinese fear of the supernatural. These symbolic carvings evidence a very strong, sensual feeling for nature.

For the most part, a purely souvenir variety of modern woodcarving is turned out now. Twenty or thirty talented and innovative artists have evolved their own distinctive styles, and-just as in Balinese painting-their successful creations are often assembly-line produced. Fortunately, the technical skill remains high. A dozen or so places in Mas, Kemenuh, and Sumampan, the principal woodcarving centers, sell high-quality carvings for as much as US$3500 apiece.

Some “galleries,” like Ida Bagus Marka in Kemenuh, are actually large complexes of adjoining rooms containing carvings in all sizes, themes, and colors-from Rp30,000 to Rp10 million. But regardless of commercial orientation, all carvings share certain characteristics and techniques uniquely Balinese. Even the copyists work strictly within the self-imposed parameters of an established style. Virtually all woodcarvers and mask-makers accept special orders. Bring a photo or a picture of the piece you’d like copied.

History
In the times of Bali’s old feudal kingdoms, woodcarving served as temple decoration and as the bale of the rajas. Wood was also utilized in such everyday household features as carved beams, columns, doors for houses, and implements like musical instruments, tool handles, bottle-stoppers, and hilts of ‘kris’. All these functional carvings were painted in bright colors, lacquer, or gold leaf; seldom was the wood left raw.

The 1930s, with the ever-increasing influx of tourists, saw a dramatic change in the perspective of Balinese wood sculptors. Shops, street corners, hotel lobbies, marketplaces, the airport, and harbors suddenly blossomed with objets d’art of an unequivocally commercial mold, produced to sell. In contrast to the traditional polychrome, mythological religious carvings, more realistic statues of peasants toiling, nude girls bathing and deer grazing appeared, themes that found a very ready market among the tourists. This mercenary impulse gave the art a terrific boost. An export market soon developed, which found Balinese statues turning up in Jakarta, Singapore, Paris.

One of the most striking milestones in modern Balinese sculpture was the emergence of the fluid form of figure sculpture with elongated arms and face, resembling the thinness of a Giacometti statue or a long-necked Modigliani. This style was born one day in 1930 when the artist I Tegelan of Belaluan was asked by Walter Spies to carve two statues from a long piece of wood. Several days later the carver returned with a single statue of a girl with an exaggeratedly lengthened torso. I Tegelan told the delighted Spies he refused to cut such a beautiful piece of wood in two. With Spies’s encouragement and support, the abstract style soon caught on, and its appeal to carvers and tourists alike continues to this day.

During the highly creative 1930s, other techniques also developed. Competition gave rise to much experimentation. In the villages of Peliatan and Nyuh Kuning (near Ubud), sculptors delicately carved animals and birds with either astounding realism or in caricature, distorting the features of a subject to heighten its special character. Often the Balinese artist mischievously sculpted a creature’s face to resemble someone in the community-a stingy old man would be portrayed as a detestable beetle; a fat, ill-tempered woman as a waddling querulous duck.

One sculptor, I Tjokot, cleverly chiseled great whorls of demons, divinities, and other mythological characters out of thick tree branches, crafting his sculptures into benches, lamp supports, and trays. It’s still easy to recognize I Tjokot’s abiding earmark; most often hollowed-out tree stumps over one meter high. A few of this master’s original works may be seen in Ubud’s Puri Lukisan.

Another outstanding carver of modern times was Ida Bagus Njana of Mas, who created phantasmagoric abstract sculptures of human beings and surrealistic knotty “natural” sculptures out of gnarly tree trunks. Only small incisions on the surface indicated contours, the wavy grain of the wood contributing to the motion of the figure. Ida Bagus was also the progenitor of the fat statues of toads, elephants, and corpulent sleeping women you now see everywhere. Several of his carvings may be seen in Ubud’s Museum. His son, Ida Bagus Tilem of Mas, is a talented sculptor in his own right and enjoys an international reputation.

Contemporary Woodcarving
Traditional-style pieces are still carved. These exotic, utterly imaginary compositions still hold a basic fascination for tourists: mythological characters like the great god Vishnu riding on the back of Garuda, a menacing demon brandishing a ‘kris’, and other immortal deities, villains, and legendary beasts from the Ramayana.

The freestanding Balinese religious statues once served as protective figures for households or as resting places for honored gods during prayer offerings and other ceremonies. Dressed in classical attire and profusely ornamented, you’ll find Hanuman wrestling a serpent, a dancing Sita, and painted woodcarvings of a mythic bird to hang from your ceiling. Called “The Bird of Life,” this motif is used in cremation ceremonies as the bearer of a deceased person’s soul to heaven.

The villages of Pujung, Jati, and Tegallalang, on the road from Ubud to Gunung Batur, are great places to wander around and meet carvers. Sebatu is another really active family-oriented woodcarving center (check out the huge elephants at Sedana Yogya by I Wayan Genjur). Nearly the whole population of these communities, including the children, are busy turning chunks of hibiscus, ‘sawo’, and ‘belalu’ into technicolor sculptures of trees, fruit, flowers, flying angels, cartoon figures, or whatever. Prices are very reasonable (don’t forget to take cash), and you’ll see pieces hard to find in the high-priced factories of Mas and Kemenuh. If you want something made to order, it isn’t a problem and will usually take about two weeks.

Some of Bali’s best woodcarvers also come from the villages of Singakerta and Pengosekan, both walkable from Ubud. The best ‘kodok’ work on the island can be found in these two villages. Batuan (near Ubud) is the place to shop for carved wood panels.

You can find Buddha statues, still very much in vogue, come in two sizes: big ones and small ones; old men and ‘pedanda’; a grandmother and grandfather pair. The singa (lion) motif is also seen widely. A unique collectible are ‘lontar’, the fan-like leaves of a species of palm tree. For hundreds of years sacred texts have been meticulously inscribed on these dried strips of palm, shaped like rulers. These masterpieces of illustrative art and calligraphy provide the only record of ancient Balinese culture, history, and literature.

Chess sets of carved teakwood (or bone) are also quite distinctive. Balinese ‘wayang golek’ (puppets in the round) are larger than Javanese ones. For carved chopsticks, you can but at some foot peddlers on Kuta. They are beautifully carved with owl-head, abstract, or garuda designs.

One abiding product is whole-carved banana, durian, or coconut palm trees, colossal heavy and hanging with wooden fruit. It takes about a month to produce one of these two-meter-tall trees. The wood used is Albizzia Falcata, which is easy to work with and readily available. Also found are giant wooden replicas of the “high offerings” which disassemble and fit solidly back together again. Fruits like ‘rambutan’ and jackfruit come alive under the carver’s skillful hands. The center for this type of carving is Tegallalang (Gianyar).

For something different, the more ancestral woodcarvings of the un-Javanized Bali Aga people of the uplands have a more primitive feel than those produced in the Hinduized portions of the island. To see traditional ‘gamelan’ instrument makers carve ornate stands and frames for instruments, visit the workshop of Pak Gabeleran in Blahbatuh, and the Gong Kembar factory near the village of Tihingan, 10 km southwest of Klungkung.

Techniques
Woodcarving is a skill requiring more precision and sureness than that of carving stone. The carver starts with a virgin block of wood, which he hacks down to roughly the same size as the piece to be carved. Using very simple tools, the carver lightly taps the highly sharpened instruments. Unlike the technique used in the West, he does not use hand pressure except for really close work.

Fine-grained hardwoods such as teak (jati) and strong fruit trees such as jackfruit (nangka), the compact sawo (a beautiful dark red wood), shiny ebony (ebon), tamarind, hibiscus, frangipani, and kayu jepun are the most popular carving woods.

The texture of the grain determines the nature of the piece to be carved. Dark ebony, particularly pieces with striped grain, is best suited for vertical shapes or faces. Rarer are pieces made of unpolished ebony (sanded and brushed only) where you can make out the grain in the wood. The blackest ebony might be used to depict a subject of great dignity. Satinwood, a light striped, beige-colored wood native to Bali, may inspire pieces of a softer theme. The grain often follows a skin pattern or veins in the arms of the statue.

Traditionally, if the statue is not to be gilded or painted it is made smooth with pumice and given a high polish by rubbing it with bamboo. These finished carvings were once treated and stained with oils to achieve a pleasing subtle gloss, but now Balinese artisans find that neutral or black shoe polish produces much the same result with half the effort. Walking down the lanes of the carving villages, you can hear the gentle hammering, sanding, and spontaneous chatter of the woodcarvers. They sit cross-legged on the floor surrounded by piles of freshly carved wood chips and rough, uncut blocks as chickens peck their way around the tools. The sweet aroma of clove cigarettes and coffee fills the air.

Carvers are paid by the day. Top-class carvers earn 60% of the selling price. These master carvers usually do not jealously guard their creations but share ideas willingly with sons and assistants. They invite apprentices to study carving under them. These pupils eventually turn out accomplished pieces patterned after their teacher’s style.

Studying Woodcarving
Students can get a lot out of learning woodcarving under masters like Muka and Anom in Mas. If you go every day, you can learn to carve your own mask in about three weeks. The carver guides and supervises your work.

Most students buy their own knives so they can continue carving at home. Because of all the carving activity on the island, Bali is one of the best places in Indonesia to buy a set of carving knives-chisels, gouges, scrapers, and mallets in every shape and size. The steel in better sets comes from ground-down automobile springs or concrete reinforcing rods and keeps its edge better than stainless steel. The better sets include 18 tools, two wooden mallets, and three finishing knives. Ask around the carving villages or buy them where Muka buys his.

Buying Woodcarvings
Look for a carving that radiates a vitality that possesses an inner life of its own. Some figurine carving is unique with faces of painstaking detail. Always bargain; high, fixed prices are intended for the tour bus participants who don’t have time to bargain. If the price is reasonable, buy it.

Explore Denpasar’s Art Center (Taman Werdi Budaya, Jl. Nusa Indah in Abiankapas, a suburb of Denpasar) before making any purchases. Here you’ll see a wide range of carving. Also visit the row of antique shops in Klungkung (east of the Kerta Gosa), and the Arts of Asia Gallery, Jl. Raya Tuban, Denpasar, tel. 752860.

For a souvenir style carving, head to Denpasar’s Kumbasari Shopping Center, a rabbit warren of shops bristling with carvings-most the tall, thin, Lempad-inspired type. Mahartha, Jl. Ir. Soetami 8, Kemenuh, is a very talented family woodcarver in the neighborhood of Mas who speaks English, Dutch, and a little French.

The gallery of Ida Bagus Tilem, one of the great Balinese carvers, is located in Mas. Many of his carvings are not for sale, and the ones for sale are very expensive. I Wayan Sila sells beautiful carvings for a reasonable price. While in Mas, check out the Tantra Gallery too.

In Gianyar, Dutch priest Pater Maurice runs a carving school where you can see the finest carved teakwood panels, some several meters in length. They are priced by the cubic meter. Smaller ones are also for sale.

If the seller claims that an article is made of pure sandalwood from Nusa Tenggara Timur, there’s a 99% chance it is some cheap imitation like coffee-wood, even if it smells like sandalwood. Also beware of bargain prices for “ebony” carvings. True ebony is expensive, very dense, heavy, and has a glossy, reddish-brown striped surface. If the statue is painted, it’s difficult to detect defects in the wood. Check for cracks and make sure all attached parts-like wings, crowns, and feet-are properly fitted. Have the carver explain any discoloration. To prevent the wood from cracking and shrinking in more temperate Western climes, some dealers have drilled a large cavity within the statue to allow moisture to escape. The bottoms of truly old statuary have not been touched.

Stone Carving

The Balinese seem unable to tolerate unadorned stone. With fanged, bulging-eyed statues guarding every gate and shrine, and walls, benches and pedestals of traffic signs carved in stone, stone-carving is so ubiquitous on Bali, you may begin to take it for granted. Superbly crafted stonework is also much in evidence in Bali’s hotel properties-from humble home-stays to luxurious five-star resorts.

An art patronized almost exclusively by the Balinese themselves, the carvings on Bali’s communal public buildings-temple walls, drum towers, gateways, public baths, hotels, courthouses-are exuberantly ornamental, a riot of swirling spirals, arabesques, intricate volutes, swastikas, leaves, rivers, tendrils, flowers, and trees. Balinese temples are never really finished, guaranteeing that stonecarving will continue as a living art. Stonecarving has been unaffected by tourist consumerism because stone is too dear to ship home. This doesn’t mean you can’t slip a 10 kg stone statue in your flight bag, but be careful as the stone used, though unexpectedly light, is also fragile and easily crumbles.

Temple stonecarving reflects the creative assimilation, which has been at work on Bali for 2,000 years. Elements of Chinese and Dutch decorative art, such as winged lions and floral patterns, have crept into stonecarvings, and on their temples and in many of the interior altars light-bulbs have been embedded into the intricate stone masonry, even though there’s no electricity in these buildings!

The stonecarving style of southern Bali, typified by the temple architecture found in Denpasar, Tabanan, Gianyar, Bangli, and Klungkung, is more subdued than that of the north. The baroque, flame-like entranceways of northern temples stand tall and slender; their relieves are more lavish and depict more lighthearted and comic scenes than those of the south. Since the north was occupied by the Dutch a full 60 years before the south, you’ll find in Buleleng Regency’s stone art more images from European magazines and movies. This is where the Balinese sense of humor and ribaldry really shows. Panels are filled with buzzing airplanes, bobbing sailing ships, car holdups by two-gunned masked bandits, bicycles made of flowers, grinning monkeys, Dutchmen drinking beer, long-bearded Arabs, and automobile breakdowns. New influences taken in without destroying the integrity of the old is a trademark of Balinese history.

Motifs and Themes
There are as many carving styles as there are carvers. Because the Balinese believe constant maintenance of their stone temples is a moral obligation, stone sculpture survives today as the only Balinese art with a religious function. Stone statuary was never intended as holy objects of worship, but rather was looked upon as pure embellishment or dwelling-places for invisible spirits invited down from heaven. Stone figures (pratimas) often portray religious personages-best described as “pictures in stone.” One seldom sees stone representations of such deities as Vishnu, Shiva, or Sanghyang Widhi. Demons, raksasa, giants, and evil spirits are the preferred subject matter. In the pura dalem (Temple of Death), the witch-queen Rangda is often enshrined, immobile and threatening, in her own niche.

Numerous steadfast rules must be followed when carving the final decoration for a temple. Over the entrance must always hang the face of a coarse, leering monster (Kala or Bhoma) with wicked lolling tongue, splayed hands, tusk-like teeth, and the lower jaws missing. It prevents evil characters from slipping into the sacred grounds. Two guardian demons almost always flank the steps to the gateway or stand guard to either side (as they do at both ends of Balinese bridges) as well.

Esoteric religious symbols and grotesque mythological creatures such as one-eyed birds and heads of elephants glare out from temple friezes or adorn temple corners in mass profusion. All around the base run carved borders (patra), frame panels portraying in stone scenes from Balinese literature: animal heroes from the Tantri tales, episodes from Arjuna Wiwaha in which heavenly nymphs attempt to seduce Arjuna while he’s meditating, battle scenes from the Hindu epic poems, a pop-eye above upper canine teeth, magic birds, snorting devils, twisting serpents, and a host of other supernatural, fanciful creatures.

Besides the profusion of carved vines, leaves, and tendrils which entwine the temple, many other symbols and mythical characters populate the confines, peering out from moss-covered walls. The padmasana (lotus seat) is a small stone pillar resting on an image of a turtle and crowned with an empty stone throne. Found in temples all over Bali, the padmasana represents the entire cosmos. Swastikas adorn walls, and the lotus-the symbolic flower of the Hindu cosmos-is seen in the most common motifs. You will also spy, if you look closely enough, erotic, pornographic scenes of earthly, sensual pleasures. The master sculptors know all the themes and variations of these stone designs by heart, or as the Balinese say, “in the belly.”

Carving Material
The material for stonecarving is a soft, ashy, light gray volcanic sandstone (paras) quarried from the banks of river. When freshly dug from the river and still soft, it’s roughly cut and shaped with adzes, then transported to the temple site. At first as malleable as plastic, the stone grows harder, more durable and darker with time. The extreme softness of “new” paras, which feels almost like dried mud, accounts for the over-lavish adornment of Balinese art in stone. These flaming motifs combined with the Balinese love of loud color give some of their temples the appearance of a carnival ride. The most outrageously painted temples in northern Bali are in the villages of Jagaraga, Bebetin, and Ringdikit. In the north, sandstone is more durable than in the south, and thus temple sculpture is considerably more flamboyant. Eaten away by rain and weathering, the soft volcanic tuff of southern Bali requires carvings be replaced or refurbished at least every five years. Statues only a decade old may appear to date from the Majapahit invasion.

To see a paras quarry, where rock is cut from cliffs with long knives, visit Blayu and Kukuh on the way to Marga. Climb down the hill from the stacks of paras water filters, cornerstones, and blocks on the road.

Where to Buy
The shops lining the main street of Batubulan, a small village northeast of Denpasar on the way to Gianyar, sell most of their carvings to locals. Bargain vigorously. These workshops will carefully pack stone sculpture in wooden frames with shredded paper so it’s ready for shipping. The heights of the figures vary from 20 cm to two meters. The average height of a small figure is one meter, weight around 10 kg. Another stonecarving center is Karang, north of Batubulan. Open dawn to dusk, visitors are welcome to visit the workshop of the master carver where you’ll see long rows of young apprentices working in small groups chiseling and chipping away at demons, turtles, ogres, nudes, frogs, and all the characters from the Balinese scriptures. For something different, Wayan Cemul, who lives just up the lane from Han Snel in Ubud, makes nontraditional, wild and wonderful paras sculptures.

Gold, Silver , Gemstone and Jewelry

In Balinese life, gold is more coveted than rupiah; women can tell a man’s wealth by the size of his kalong (gold necklace). Though the traditional center for gold and silver jewelry-making is Denpasar, the art has now also taken hold elsewhere on the island. Dozens of gold- and silversmiths work in Banjar Pande Mas in Kamasan, four km south of Klungkung. Once working under the auspices of the old Gelgel court, these smiths produce large, delicately ornamented silver and gold betel nut bowls, chased gold ‘kris’ handles, offering platters, and vessels for holy water. A market still exists for these ceremonial objects, which are necessary for sacrificial and exorcist rituals, luckily guaranteeing the survival of the craft. Younger men work beside the older masters and learn the patterns and techniques by imitation and repetition.

When buying expensive gold and silver ready-made articles, it’s best to find an honest, reliable, reasonable, fixed-price shop and buy from them. Though you’ll pay average prices, at least you won’t get cheated. For custom work, ferret out a ‘kampung’ artisan whose workshop are just a dirt floor, crude wood benches, and a tree trunk with a metal spike for an anvil. If he has a ring mandrel, all the better. At virtually any workshop/salesroom combo, you’ll be able to observe a silver-working demonstration.

Ask your hotel proprietor or other unbiased Balinese who does good work and request to see samples of the work. The price depends on the weight, the design, the stone, or all three. Another approach is to buy unworked silver or gold elsewhere in Asia (at cheaper prices) and trade it for jewelry, or give the jeweler coins with high silver content in exchange for hand-done, made-to-order rings, brooches, necklaces. You can bring rare stones for setting-you have your choice of some very striking backgrounds.

Besides the souvenir and gift shops of the big hotel lobbies in Sanur, Nusa Dua, and Kuta, jewelry is made and sold in the village of Celuk (beyond Batubulan). For starters, Bali Sun Sri (Jalan Raya Celuk, Sukawati, tel. 62361-298.275 or 298.730) has a large collection of jewelry, gemstones, and precious stones. Since Celuk is the first stop for tour buses after the completion of the Barong dances in Batubulan, get there before 1000 to miss the crowds. No problem using plastic.

Kuta Beach is another center for gold and silver jewelry; try Jonathon, Jalan Legian (tel. 62361-751.584). Also check out the shops along Jalan Raya (Pasar Ubud, Mirah, Ganesha Bookshop) and Monkey Forest Road (Bali Rosa, Purpa) in Ubud, and Kunang-Kunang in Campuan. Tampaksiring is well known for its wooden jewelry, carved tusk and bone, and coconut shell ornaments. Tampaksiring’s real carving center is Manukaya, north of the Tirta Empul holy springs.

Gold
For jewelry, the ratio is three grams of gold to one gram of copper. For traditional and modern Balinese-style jewelry, shop in the gold center of Bali-the 15 or so gold shops (toko mas) around the busy intersection of Denpasar’s Jalan Sulawesi and Jalan Hasannudin. One of the best is Kenanga, Jalan Hasannudin 43 A (tel. 62361-225.725). These shops-and others like them in almost any Balinese town-sell mostly traditional earplugs, gold chains, zodiac signs, pendants, and big gold rings which Balinese men like to wear. Here in these Jalan Sulawesi shops you’ll at least be given a fair fixed price much faster than you will in way-overpriced Celuk where you have to bargain like mad for a fair price.

Gold is cheaper in Asia than in the West, costing usually only around Rp25,000 per gram which is equal to about US$340 per ounce as compared to $380 per ounce worldwide. A ring will take two weeks to complete, and most shops will even deliver it to your hotel. Draw your design, or select a ring from the shop’s showcases and modify it. Tell them to have it finished a week before you really need it. Allow two weeks (maximum) for completion. Take one of their business cards and call back in a week to see how the work is progressing. Check the work carefully as a ring or an armband can break easily, stones fall from mountings, etc.

For a custom order, go to the two reliable goldsmiths in Denpasar (Melasti and Kenanga) in the row of gold shops on Jalan Hasannudin. Another ‘tukang mas’ (goldsmith), capable of good work, is at Zamrud on Jalan Sulawesi, which is opposite the line of gold shops in Denpasar. Singaraja is also a great place to shop for 14-24 carat gold; friendly shops all over town. Gianyar has a few toko mas.

Silver
Balinese silver is on average 92.5% pure (they mix every 50 grams of silver with two grams of copper). The larger pieces such as flat silver trays, bowls, tableware, and teapots are plated and not pure. The Balinese import most all their silver, almost always hand-construct their jewelry, and rarely use casting techniques.

Balinese silver-filigree necklaces, bracelets, and rings are very light, delicate, and highly decorated. A technique called granulation is employed whereby small pellets of silver are heated until soft enough to adhere to the piece. For the ready-to-wear, cash-and-carry pieces, it is usually cheaper in Yogya and West Sumatra, although Bali’s silversmiths tend to be more inventive.

On Bali, the first asking price in a local market or by a peddler is not necessarily lower than that of the exclusive shop. Both start out at equally escalated prices. You should get them to come down at least 40%, and in some cases as much as 60%.

A fairly honest shop in Celuk is Gala Silver, only a half kilometer from the main road. Here they teach small children silvermaking. Cakra is a nice man, speaks good English (he once worked for a travel agency), and he’ll give you a demo of the silvermaking process. He sells earrings and rings. Silver items in the back lanes of Beraton (one km south of Singaraja) are very reasonable. This is the place to have something made.

Gemstones and Semi-Precious Stones
Gemstones are not native to Bali; most come from Hong Kong. A new phenomenon is the gem shops opening in Kuta, Nusa Dua and Sanur. Know your stuff. Visit a jeweler in your home country. Buy a book on stones, gems, and jewelry. Look for a nice luster and round shape. Bali Opal Center (Jalan Raya Tuban 2 D, Tuban, tel. 62361-752.761) sells beautiful amethyst (kecubung), white opal (kalimaya), black opal from Java, milky white opal from Banten (West Java) and other gems. The darker the opal, the older and more valuable it is. Also sold are chameleon opal and amber (miklak) bracelets.

The Uluwatu parking lot is a center for the sale of agate (akik) artifacts and stones: turtles, cats, frogs, ducks, eggs, Buddha heads, bracelets, and ashtrays. Also bead bracelets and necklaces, multicolored woven belts and shells by the tableful.

Rare and beautiful coral plants, with their rich chainlike floral patterns seemingly printed inside the stone, make intricate jewel-like decorative ornaments. The colors of these 100-year-old fossils vary from soft to warm. Kuta’s Citra Batu Alam has Bali’s widest choice of coral gemstones (they also specialize in jasper and opal) where you may choose any desirable shape and matching ring, pendant, earrings, or buckle.

Antiques

Ground zero for antiques is the Kuta/Legian/Seminyak area where lots of shops are stuffed with dusty, dirty artifacts and stacks of repro. Look for the grotesque, primitive statues out front. Not all pieces are Balinese; many originate in Nusa Tenggara and other areas of eastern Indonesia.

Take your time. You may have to lower your sights and buy a clever, well-made reproduction rather than a true antique. Perhaps the only true antique left on the island is Victor Mason’s polyphone at the Begger’s Bush in Ubud.

Before buying antiques, increase your knowledge as much as possible by referring to the reference books in the booklets and visiting the Bali Museum of Denpasar and the Puri Lukisan of Ubud. Tribal artists don’t experiment, but adhere to a rigid iconographical framework. If it’s Dayak carvings you’re after, study the art books and museum catalogs first. If the piece doesn’t conform to the norm, it’s suspect.

Probably no place on earth-with the possible exception of Kathmandu-contains a greater density of beautiful “artifact”. This wonderful repro (antik baru or “new antiques”) may be far superior to some of the ugly originals you come across. And the repro cost far less.

If you ask for a true antique, you have to always assume you’ll be cheated. Be an investigator first and a buyer second. Looking old and being old are not the same. Pay attention to how the patina-the wear and tear, dirt and dust of an art object-was created. A ‘tukang’ patina craftsman (seldom the salesperson) specializes in creating a convincing patina. The seller will deceive you by standing the piece up in the ground, letting it rust in the elements, layering it with dust, grime, etc. Be on the lookout for other irregularities that don’t make sense. With a magnifying glass, study the scratches on the surface of old metal objects. The scratches should be of various lengths, depths, shapes, and angles. Scratches of equal length and depth are indications of fakery because they have been uniformly buffed, sanded, and polished. The same applies to woodcarvings as even grooves caused by erosion can be carved.

Often you can tell they were made on Bali because the carvers can’t seem to suppress a Balinese style or incorporate typical Balinese motifs. Also, successful fakes are apt to appear in a number of outlets within a relatively short time, so always look around first to see if your “original” shows up anywhere else. You can ask a dealer directly how old a piece is, but he will often whisper the little white lie “This piece is not so old but it is also not so new.” Dealers of questionable repute will also tell yarns about a piece. The more elaborate the tale, the less likely it is true. If it’s a big-ticket item and you’re skeptical, ask for a written guarantee stating the conditions of the purchase. This won’t really protect you, but it may make the dealer think twice before ripping you off. Always get a photocopy of the documentation (with certification number) for any statue or antiquity to have ready for a customs official at the airport or docks in case he seeks.

Leave the really old stuff. A law, Cagar Budaya, was passed in 1993 to prevent the hemorrhage of antique treasures from Bali. The law states that any object over 50 years old is considered “antique” and must be turned over to the government. The only exceptions are those objects-like old Kris and carved stones-still being venerated.

Furniture
Furniture making is not really a part of the Balinese artistic repertoire. Today, repro furniture is the one of the fastest-growing industries on the island. Because of tourist demand and the large number of tourists concentrated on Bali, the island has become a frenetic furniture emporium. Agents comb the countryside and villages of Java looking for unusual pieces, buying them up for a song. The furniture is often made of jati (teak) and usually is in decrepit shape. Once fully restored in Bali, the same pieces sell for as much as 10 times the original price in the antique shops of Batubulan, Legian, and Kerobokan.

Still, the prices for these beautiful, unique, and authentic antiques are a fraction of what they would cost in the West: antique easy chairs Rp300,000, Madurese carved storage boxes Rp500,000, rustic married cabinets Rp500,000 (married means old wood joined with new wood), wooden benches Rp350,000, Javanese partitions with Islamic motifs Rp400,000, carved prows of traditional boats, wooden buckets Rp75,000, small tea tables Rp125,000, rare and ornate colonial chairs Rp300,000, reclining lounge chairs Rp250,000.

But the supply is not inexhaustible and it’s going fast. Presently as many as 100 containers a month leave Bali and Java for the living rooms of Milan, Stockholm, and San Francisco (as many as 500 containers a month of repro-furniture). Some types of furniture have disappeared altogether. Don’t even bother looking for Dutch-Chinese (peranakan) furniture with traces of original pigment. Indonesia was cleaned out of these pieces decades ago.

Choose your piece very carefully, as there’s a lot of junk out there and prices for the good stuff varies considerably. Beware of parts of the piece which are not original and be sure the add-ons match properly. Make sure, for example, that the dealer doesn’t replace old teak with cheap, green wood, then use a dark stain so that you can’t discern the difference until it’s too late. Termites will devour the cheap wood (they won’t go near the old teak) and the piece will crack and split once it’s been shipped to a cold temperate climate.

Also examine the finishes the dealer uses; most often they slap on dark, unevenly applied shellac which makes a real antique look like a piece of repro-rubbish. If you like the design, buy it plain and finish it yourself or hire a Balinese carpenter at Rp9000 per hour and supervise the work. Most dealers don’t bargain because they can easily get the prices they ask. Wait until you see something you like and (if reasonable) pay the price asked-quickly.

Ethnographic
Bali is also fast becoming an international center for primitive art. The competition for the art of the Outer Islands is intense-many pieces were plundered by Indonesian Army officers. A great number of souvenir shops now sell contemporary tribal baskets, bamboo containers, amulets, statuettes, tribal body ornaments and jewelry-all newly made and well crafted.

Forget about finding something original. All the major museum-quality pieces were bought up over a century ago and now form parts of very old European collections. There are no Borobudur Buddha heads or Leti ancestor statues left.

Balinese artists are extremely adept at reproducing ethnographic from all over the archipelago-authentic-looking Asmat carvings, Borneo hampatong figures, Nias, Batak, or Sumba-style wooden statuary. Though not the real thing, these relatively inexpensive “antiques-to-order” are all perfectly legitimate art forms, attractive, worth every rupiah if you can buy something you like for a good price. The best reproductions are made by the ethnic groups right in the place where they live and work.

Souvenirs not to buy, lest customs in your country fine you and/or confiscate your articles, are items made with alligator, lizard, snakeskin, ivory. Combs, barrettes, and jewelry made from tortoise shell and souvenirs made of feathers, fur, dried turtles, or butterflies can also be confiscated.

Where to Shop
Individual shops are on the main shopping streets of Sanur and Kuta. The shopping arcades of major resort hotels are another rich source of beautiful antiques at sky-high prices, but make sure what you’re buying is genuine and not a repro.

There are literally hundreds of furniture shops, by far the most concentrated in southern Bali within the Mas-Jimbaran-Kerobokan triangle. Wherever you see a mass jumble of old beds, decaying screens, posts, stop and dive in. Investigate the high-end big dealers and galleries first. For furniture, check out Polos in Legian, Warisan in Kerobokan, Mario’s near the big Buddha baby on the Gianyar Road. Stay away from the shops on the main drag (Jl. Bypass) where the worst fly-by-night con-artists work. Buy only from reputable dealers. One of the best of the big dealers is Arts of Asia Gallery, Jl. Raya Tuban, Denpasar, tel. 62361-752.860, which houses a priceless collection of old wayang kulit, woodcarvings, textiles (gringsing, endek, songket), Chinaware, and fine kris.

Don’t neglect such first-class galleries as the Polo Gallery in the Four Seasons Hotel, the Kunang-Kunang in Campuan and the Amandari Gallery in Kedewatan (both near Ubud); Baharuddhin’s for luscious hand-dyed ikat from Sumba, Flores, Sawu, and Kalimantan, plus beads, baskets, and curios; Kaliuda Art Shop, Jl. Legian, for woodcarvings and ikat from Timor, Sumba and Flores.

Klungkung has a cluster of seven antique shops on Jl. Diponegoro east of the main intersection; treasures can almost always be uncovered in these cluttered, dusty shops. Kerajinan Art Shop can be depended upon. Batubulan also has a row of shops, especially strong on fine old gilded or plain carved wood panels, statues, and old Balinese art objects; also Kamasan paintings, vintage musical instruments, fans, cowbells, wooden kulkul bells, etc. The shops are just south of Batubulan’s stone-carving workshops.

The self-appointed arbiter of taste and style, Australian-born Made Wijaya, whose other passions include anthropology, architecture, and gardening for rock stars, has fitted out his Gallery Bebek at the Tohpati intersection (on the way to Ubud) with an eclectic collection of contemporary furniture and objets d’art.

Ceramics

Ceramic firing techniques never developed into an advanced craft on Bali. Up until the early 1970s, precious green Sung dynasty plates would still occasionally turn up. On some Balinese temple walls dating from the last century, valuable ceramic bowls and saucers of European origin have been embedded in plaster (visit Puri Anyar in Kerambitan village, Tabanan). Even “Kitchen Ming” chinaware plates, once used in common trading and bartering, are now becoming scarce, only available on Kuta Beach at exorbitant prices.

For modern ceramics, check out Sari Bumi on Jl. D. Tamblingan opposite Batu Jimbar in Sanur. Started by New Zealander Brent Heslin, these functional, high-fired glazed ceramics include salt and peppershakers, ashtrays, small vases, etc. All the major hotels carry his stuff. Also check out Nacha in Legian for housewares, tea and dinner sets, vases, lamps, etc.

A distinguished ceramics designer, Kay It, lived and worked in Tabanan. Born of a Chinese-Balinese family of shopkeepers, It was one of Indonesia’s most promising modern impressionistic artists until he died suddenly in 1977 at the age of 39. It’s tall totem poles and other ceramics on the landscaped grounds of the Bali Hyatt in Sanur remind one of the ancient Incan and Aztec designs. It’s works can also be viewed in the Neka Gallery and Puri Lukisan in Ubud, and his influence can still be seen in the designs of many small ceramics available in Bali’s markets: ashtrays, candleholders in the chili style, and tiles for wall hangings.

Pottery and Terra-cotta
Although bamboo and pandanus containers largely take the place of pottery, the Balinese do produce artful and pragmatic terra-cotta articles and various clay vessels, embellished with patterns by artisans using the same tools and methods as woodcarvers. Found in almost any village market on Bali, the pottery is brittle and great care must be taken in transporting it. Kapal, 10 km to the west of Denpasar, is another pottery center where the island’s distinctive red pottery is produced-vases, flasks, lamp bases, ashtrays, clay figurines, standing yard sculpture and statuary, lamp bases, concrete shrines. Be sure to see the ceramic lanterns and traditional slated clay coin banks in the shape of pigs, horses, dogs, etc.

Other pottery (gerabah) sellers can be found in Ubung, northwest of Denpasar. In Dulung village, 3.5 km past Kerobokan beyond Seminyak (at T-junction, turn left), is a ceramics center which produces delightful ashtrays, tissue and toothpick holders, and condiment sets in dark green, blue, sandy (abu). Orders take about one month.

Pejaten near Tabanan is a village devoted almost exclusively to producing pottery and terra cotta. Visitors are welcome in the many co-op workshops, which turn out glazed ornamental roof tiles, soap dishes, stand-alone figurines, and wonderful clay animals with dull matte finish, celadon, or glossy glazes. A shop in Candidasa (Tanteri’s, on main road) and in Ubud (opposite Ubud Bookstore) sells Pejaten work.

Clothing

Bali has come a long way since the days when Kuta’s bamboo and gaslight ‘losmen’ sold barong T-shirts and batik drawstring cotton trousers to hippie world travelers. In the last five years especially, Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak have become major centers for shops and boutiques selling chic and sophisticated Euro-fashions.

Southern Bali is now one of the best places in Southeast Asia to buy the latest continental, smart city clothes, industrial-fashion designs, and contemporary beachwear. Many internationally recognized European designers-Milo, Itang Yunasz-have teamed up with Balinese designers and nimble-fingered Balinese garment workers. You’ll also find collections from such high-end imported labels as Gigli, Gaultier, Doc Martens and Palladium.

Literally hundreds of clothes shops line Kuta/Legian’s main road (Jalan Legian), as well as the roads running between Kuta/Legian and the beach. Fashions made for domestic and foreign tourists may also be bought at boutiques in the major hotels. These shops tend to stock a lot of high-fashion batik clothing. Designers on Bali shy away from the wildly mixed colors favored by the Balinese and limit combinations to varying shades of one or two colors in a single pattern. Smaller shops and markets offer better bargains in simpler styles.

Be careful when buying unbelievably inexpensive pants, blouses, shirts, T-shirts, and jackets for sale in the shops along the main drags of the beach resorts or sold by peddlers on the beach. These garments are often overruns, defects, and seconds. This is why you find so many flaws in the workmanship-button holes not lined up, mismatched dye lots, bad stitching, wrong size, sleeves too long or too short, label wrong (says large when it’s really small). Much of the material is cheap rayon. Check every piece.

Several shops sell sequined bodices, tops, hats, and purses. Have a good giggle but be careful of buying loud and radical clothing you will probably never wear back home. Also be wary of those flimsy white and black plastic zippers. Balinese G-strings are flimsy but lots of fun. For classier one or two-piece swimsuits and after-swim wear, try Kuta’s No Shit (Jalan Bakung Sari), Bali Balance on Jalan Buni Sari, The Curl and Blue Groove on Jalan Legian.

For children’s clothes, try Kuta Kids on Jalan Legian near Bemo Corner in Kuta, and Bali Balance, Jl. Bumi Sari, Kuta; for men’s and ladies’ fashions, Rag’s Warehouse, Jalan Basangkasa 28 A, Seminyak, tel. 62361-751.556; for shirts and shorts, Mr. Bali has several shops in Kuta and Legian; for sportswear and footwear, try Tao, Kingkong, and Kartini in Legian; and Bali Barrel, Ulu’s Shop, and The Surf Shop for surfwear.

Silk articles are not that great a bargain anymore. A wonderful shop for creative and expensive silk articles is Biasa, Jalan Raya Seminyak 39 (tel. 62361-752.945). Other great deals (but not beachwear) can be found in the giant department store of Denpasar like MA, Matahari, New Dewata Ayu, the Tiara Dewata and Libi.

Tailoring
Remember you can have a skirt, pants, shirt, or dress made to fit by a tailor or seamstress, so you shouldn’t pay more than the amount you’d pay him or her (plus material) for the same garment at a market stall or art shop. Also you get the best price because you’re dealing directly with the person making your garment. Stay clear of tourist ghettoes.

Tailors on Bali do good work, take only two to three days to complete a job, charge very reasonable prices and are very clever at copying from an already sewn piece or from a photo in a fashion magazine or catalog. Give a false deadline to avoid a delay. They may charge you extra fee for “fast work” (two days). More elaborate designs cost more and take more time.

Bring a shirt, skirt, or pair of trousers, which fit you very well. From any of these garments the tailor will make a paper pattern. Always specify the buttons to be used and whether you desire double stitching (you do). Check out their previous work.

Prices for typical materials like print batik for a shirt, cotton for dresses or trousers are extra. You’ll find a good selection of materials on Jalan Sulawesi in Denpasar.

Locate a good tailor on Jalan Legian (between Kuta and Legian); in Denpasar there are few tailors along Jalan Gajah Mada who do sew for less. Or you can get the name of a good tailor or seamstress from a fabric shop. If it’s a retail outlet that offers alterations, look for a sewing machine on site; it’s a good sign because you work directly with the tailor and avoid the middleman.

Metallurgy

The earliest and most remarkable specimen of metallurgy present on Bali is the famous pre-Hindu bronze kettle gong, the largest of its type in the world, in the tower-like shrine in the back of Pura Panataran Sasih in Pejeng. This mysterious hourglass-shaped artifact, nearly two meters high and adorned with eight stylized heads, survives from Indonesia’s Bronze Age, which began around 300 BC. It is not clear if the Balinese possessed the sophistication to forge the gong themselves, or if it was imported from Indochina.

The Balinese, as recently as the 1950s, excelled in working precious and semiprecious metals into many more instruments and accessories than they do today. At one time the coppersmiths and copper casters of Banjar Budaga (near Klungkung) forged or cast brass bells, incense holders, and lamps which were used as ritual objects by all classes of priests. They also fashioned handsome gold and silver plates, vases, knives, and scissors for cutting ‘sirih’. Now, only the ornate rings, bracelets, earplugs, ear pendants, and flowers for dancers’ hair made from hammered and chiseled gold are still crafted. Nowadays metalworking is a common occupation, for the most part a craft of souvenir and jewelry makers.

Blacksmiths
Working as the king’s armorers and as the vital source of agricultural tools and metallic musical instruments in pre-industrial Bali, the village blacksmiths were of very high social standing, free from the confines of the Hindu caste system. As a sign of deference, even the haughty Brahmanas were obliged to speak in High Balinese when speaking to a smith in his workshop. Royalty often made gifts of rice fields to honor smiths in their service. Blacksmiths had their own temples and burial grounds.

Traditional blacksmiths (pande wesi)-using bellows, tongs, and anvils, charcoal fires from coconut-husks-still can be found on Bali. To see traditional gamelan instrument makers in action, visit the workshop of Pak Gabeleran in Blahbatuh where bronze is forged into xylophonic keys or pots. Ornate instrument stands are carved here as well. Tihingan village, five km north of the main Gianyar-Klungkung road, is another instrument-making center. Balinese musicians from all over the island come to these foundries to buy their musical instruments.

The art of stained glass and iron mongering is kept alive by Mondirama in Padangtegal just before Ubud (if coming from Peliatan). Dolf, the owner, designs all his own glass and iron pieces. The glass manufactured at the shop is burned (oxidized) to achieve 130 colors. This method was used in medieval times. Artisans who restore European cathedrals have to use this method to match the ancient colors. Mondirama is the only factory of its kind in Indonesia. There’s another one in Bandung, but they import glass from the U.S., which makes their products expensive.

One of the largest and most complete stores for bronze decorative objects in Indonesia is the Golden Buffalo House of Bronze, on Monkey Forest Road in Ubud, tel. 62361-96.328, fax 62631-752.013, and at Jl. Legian Tengah 412 in Kuta, tel. 62361-755.936, fax 62631-752.013. They can create any kind of motif by designing a piece after one in their catalog or by creating a sample.

Shell and Trinkets

Hole-in-the-middle 100- to 250-year-old Chinese coins (kepeng), with Chinese characters on one side (“Year of the Corn”) and Pali script on the other, are ideal for setting, hanging, or for casting I Ching. In Dutch times, about 700 kepeng could buy one Dutch guilder. Since traders purchased them at 1,400per Dutch guilder in China, a 100% profit was realized. Since the 17th century, export of coins was so great a drain on Chinese coinage that the Chinese government attempted in vain to stop their export. Literally thousands of bags of these crude bronze or lead coins were shipped from China to Bali, recounted, then put on strings 200 at a time to be used as an island-wide currency.

Puka shells are small, round, white shells found along the shores of Pacific Basin countries. Look for necklaces with all shells the same size. You can get cheaper puka necklace at the surfers’ hangout, Uluwatu’s souvenir warung, than on Kuta. Turtle Island (Serangan) sells perhaps Bali’s most gorgeous seashells.

Akar bahar bracelets are in the shape of a serpent. Shape them further with heat, then tie with wire. Or shape them while still wet, then dry in the sun. Polish with ash until smooth and shiny. Some say they have a therapeutic effect, giving relief from rheumatism and arthritis. These seaweed bracelets (actually a sea-tree) grow on your wrist from the heat and perspiration; it lives.

The bone-and-ivory carving center is in the kampung of Manukaya near Tampaksiring on the main road between Denpasar and Kintamani. But don’t believe the vendors if they claim their work is ivory. It’s a 98% chance it is bleached, hourglass-shaped, cow thighbone. Ivory, which is imported from Flores, does not have the flat white color of these wares; look for the rhombus effect on real ivory.

Prices for bone carvings depends upon their size and intricacy. Ivory and deer horn carving can also be purchased.

Beads
Usually made of glass, beads are also found in stone, clay, bone, ivory, wood, shell, seed, amber, metal, and plastic and come from India, China, the Middle East, and Europe. A note of caution: For hundreds of years beads have been copied, making the task of dating and determining their origin difficult. New glass beads have a rougher surface than old ones, which are silky smooth. Also the holes of ancient glass beads tend to be larger and more irregular, and they weigh a lot more than plastic beads.