I wrote about an elegant Nataraja bronze from South India in my previous post. Let’s talk about another artifact from Eastern Java today.

The discovery

By 1818, during the era of European colonization that gripped Southeast Asia, Java was under Dutch colonial rule. There was growing interest in Europe in the archaeological and cultural heritage of their colonies. Officers like Stamford Raffles and Willem Stutterheim made journeys through Java and documented their findings.

Much before Stamford Raffles (why I mention him is because he is a venerated British colonial administrator of the Straits Settlements!), D. Monnereau, a Dutch East Indies official, was likely on an official trip or exploratory mission in the Malang area of Eastern Java.

Within the ruins of Cungkup Putri near the Singhasari temple, he identified (or perhaps looted?) the treasure called Prajnaparamita statue.

Buddhist Goddess and her Javanese connection

Prajnaparamita is considered the Goddess of the Perfection of Wisdom in Mahayana Buddhism. She is worshipped as the mother of all Buddhas. Some say this sculpture is a depiction of the first queen of Singhasari—Ken Dedes (also called Dyah Ayu Sri Maharatu Mahadewi or Nareswari). Ken Dedes herself has a captivating story behind her, but that is not the focus of this post. I will write about it another day.

Based on my readings, this is the Buddhist Goddess Prajnaparamita, but it might have been sculpted with resemblances to Ken Dedes. A few suggest this sculpture might have been erected where Ken Dedes was buried. Others write that it may depict Queen Gayatri, wife of the first king of Majapahit. However, this idea is not widely said due to the place it was found.

Javanese art

This Buddhist mother Goddess was sitting in padmasana, on a padma peetam on top of a minimally decorated square platform. Her face is striking us, with a serene expression with downcast gaze. Her hair is arranged into an decorated crown (jata-makuta).

She is adorned with rich jewelry with beautifully carved necklaces, ear rings that matches with her face. A string of pearl wraps gracefully around her body. A lotus creeper with flower is intertwined in her left arm, holding Prajnaparamita sutra.

We need to talk about the fine-carved details of her Batik Sarong which was skillfully rendered. It provides a look of a sensuous drape of real cloth, depicting the goddess as a queen.

This 126 cm tall statue was made from pale rose volcanic andesite stone and is believed to date back to the 13th century. It is one of the finest sculptures representing Hindu-Buddhist Javanese art forms.

Why don’t you meet her in Google Arts and Culture.

Dutch took it

Later, this treasure was shipped to the Netherlands and displayed at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden.

The Netherlands, which exerted enormous effort to maintain its colonial rule in Indonesia, later faced protests from Indonesia and international pressure. In 1978, they returned this sculpture to Indonesia as a “gift.” 🙂 This act improved relations between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

Of course, this Javanese mother taught her Javanese children to forgive their colonial rulers.

Reading recommendation –

• Prajnaparamita of Java
• Majapahit – Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia’s Greatest Empire by Herald van der Linde

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