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Ceremonial valance for a temple or pavilion (Ider-ider) depicting Arjunawiwaha

Ceremonial valance for a temple or pavilion (Ider-ider) depicting Arjunawiwaha
Ider-ider
 (early 20th century)

Medium
pigment on cotton cloth
Measurements
24.0 × 673.0 cm
Place/s of Execution
(Gianyar), Bali, Indonesia
Accession Number
2014.246
Department
Asian Art
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Supporters of Asian Art, 2014
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Gordon Darling Foundation
Gallery location
Not on display
Physical description
The ider-ider depicting scenes from the Arjunawiwaha has been tentatively accredited to the region of Gianyar in southern Bali by Professor Adrian Vickers, Professor of Southeast Asian Studies, Sydney University. Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms existed in the Gianyar region from before the fourteenth century and these royal and religious centres would have provided patronage for local artists. An ider-ider is a long horizontal cloth embellished with line drawings in black ink and painted in opaque pigments. Traditional Balinese paintings of this type were hung from the eaves of pavilions and shrines in palace and temple precincts on ceremonial occasions.This ider–ider depicts scenes from the Arjunawiwaha, the story of Arjuna, the hero of the Pandawa clan from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the Balinese version of the Mahabharata Arjuna is tempted by heavenly nymphs sent by the gods to lure the hero from his meditation. The painting on offer begins with the arrival of the goddess Supraba at the palace of the demon Niwatakawaca with instructions to seduce him.