Antique Indonesian Sasak Lontar Wedding Storage Box Palm Leaf Bamboo Shell 20"

Description

Antique dowry storage box made of lontar palm (pandanus palm leaf) featuring split bamboo with cowrie shell decoration, made by Muslim Sasak people, Lombok Island, Indonesia, circa 1930s. Originally intended to be used to store and carry wedding cloths. Strengthened by a framework of split bamboo struts and decorated on the front with Islamic design of small cowrie shells.

The lontar or palmyra palm is the tree of life on the mountainous, arid islands of Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara Province. The Sasak communities are Islamic or Wektu Telu, a form of Islam combined with the earlier Hindu and Buddhist influences from the Bali and Philippines regions.

These boxes are known for their stability, which is due to their scaffold of bamboo, which supports the lontar (pandanus palm leaf) walls, base and top. Both the tops and sides of the boxes are reinforced with strips of bamboo, which are also ornamental. The fronts of the boxes are decorated with small white shells in patterns that are curvilinear and non-pictorial in character. The boxes are very light and easy to move around, yet they are strong enough to stand on.

In order to produce a lontar box, the maker would first have to split the pandanus leaves and dry them before working with them. There are two methods by which leaves can be coloured. The first is by boiling or soaking with bark, fruit or other colour-yielding material. In this method, the colours are usually subdued brown and gold. The second method is to bury the stripped leaves for several days until they turn brown; for a really dark brown, they are boiled with teak leaves and reburied. Other dyes which produce brighter colours must be used together with a mordant to reach the desired hues.

Condition

Good antique condition, wear and distressing commensurate with age and use, splitting, finish loss, missing bamboo trim.

Dimensions

19.5" x 16.25" x 18"h