A pair of Indonesian ebony door-panels with bold carvings of leaves and flowers in half-relief

Indonesia, Batavia (Jakarta), 1680-1700

 

H. 89.5 x W. 56.8 cm (each)

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From about 1680 a new style of ebony carving, in large floral shapes, developed in Batavia. Based on Dutch prints such as in the Florilega (1612) by E. Sweerts and the tulip-plates in De Blomhof (1614) by Crispijn de Passe de Jonge. Carving in ebony was mostly done by (enslaved) Tamil woodcarvers imported to Batavia from the Coromandel Coast or Sri Lanka. The present panels, which are probably salvaged cabinet-doors, are exceptionally beautiful examples of this new style.