Skip to main content

Thesaurus

Choose Thesaurus
Term: Javanese

Refers to the period and style generally associated with the island of Java. In sculpture, the style is characterized by bronze works heavily influenced by the Dông-son and Indian cultures. Bone and tortoiseshell are heavily used in carvings. As Islam spread throughout Java in the 15th century, sculptural styles featured deeply carved reliefs of dynamic but less refined movement and exhibited religious themes of deliverance and redemption. The architectural style of this period features the candi, a temple complex generally featuring a roof structure constructed from layered stone adorned with turrets, circular moldings around the base, cellas, and sculptures of banaspati heads. In lapidary production, garnets, crystals, pearls, ivory, and amethysts are used in bracelets and neck pendants; court jewelry features carved iconography. Manuscript illumination also appears in Java depicting Islamic subject-matter.