Balinese Rawana Kris Stand

Polychrome Wooden Kris Stand in the form of Rawana

This dynamic image of Rawana has been carved from a single piece of wood and decorated in polychrome and gold paint. It is designed to hold a Balinese kris (sword) upright – Rawana’s right hand is held open but curled to accommodate a kris scabbard. The figure stands on a rocky base with his legs apart, and in a slightly crouched position. His dress includes long ribbons at the back which trail down to the base in an interesting carved wood array. Rawana is shown with long, black curly hair and bulging eyes.

The kris holder here has some similarity to an example illustrated in Reichle (2010, p. 244) which was taken from the Badung palace in Denpasar in September 1906 during the aftermath of the

puputan or ritual suicide of the Badung raja, his family and court in the face of an impending attack by Dutch forces.

Rawaṇa (known as Ravana in India) is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic Ramayana, where he is depicted as the warrior demon king of Lanka (Sri Lanka). The Ramayana has great influence in traditional culture across Southeast Asia, and nowhere more so than on Bali which remained a Hindu society after much of the rest of the Indonesian archipelago converted to Islam. And so here, in this image, Rawana is depicted wearing a crown and the garb of a princely warrior, and in a combative pose, adding sculptural fluidity and dynamism.

The image has a fine patina. There is an old, barely visible repair to the wrist that holds the kris but this is stable. There is an old chip to the back of the base but this is barely visible when the image is standing in its proper upright position. Overall, any losses are age-related and to be expected. It is otherwise in a fine condition.