Beyond the Java Sea: Art of Indonesia's Outer Islands

BEYOND THE JAVA SEA: ART OF INDONESIA'S OUTER ISLANDS, Paul Michael Taylor and Lorraine V. Aragon, hardcover with unclipped dust jacket (price not printed on inner flap), richly illustrated with photos and drawings in color and BW, 1991. ITEM CONDITION: near fine. The text block and illustrations are in fine condition with no tears, dog-ears, or marks. There is no bookplate or signature of a former owner. Not a library book or remainder. The black cloth boards are in near fine condition (very lightly bumped lower righthand corner of front cover). The unclipped dust jacket is in near fine condition (light shelf rubbing on back). 11 ¾ x 9, 318 pages, 59 ounces. XX [From the inner flaps] BEYOND THE JAVA SEA accompanies the first major exhibition of art masterpieces created by the peoples of Indonesia's outer islands. An important component of the Festival of Indonesia, a celebration taking place throughout the United States in 1990-92, BEYOND THE JAVA SEA presents more than 200 works, including intricate textiles, warriors' costumes, ancestor images, shamans' ritual paraphernalia, altars, amulets, and dazzling gold jewelry from royal courts. Although the Indonesian archipelago encompasses more than 13,000 islands, only the "inner islands" of Java and Bali are familiar to most westerners. BEYOND THE JAVA SEA examines the diverse and fascinating cultures of the "outer islands," home to some 300 ethnic groups. Central to these traditional cultures is the creation of compelling works of art, which often serve powerful social and ritual functions: honoring ancestors, establishing marriage alliances, marking changes of social status, and linking daily life with the supernatural. This first comprehensive examination of outer-island art surveys the cultures of the archipelago from Nias in the far west to Irian Jaya in the east, offering a new interpretation of Indonesian aesthetics and design. The lucid text is richly illustrated with maps, drawings, and more than 400 reproductions—including more than 180 full-color plates as well as archival photographs that place the art in its ethnographic context. This volume highlights various cultural groups, from the Batak and Lampung peoples of Sumatra to the Dayak of Kalimantan and the Sa'dan Toraja of Sulawesi; rare artifacts that survive from the islands' prehistoric past are included as well as the highly refined art of coastal trading groups who embraced Islam and developed courtly societies. XX Paul Michael Taylor is Curator of Asian Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. A frequent lecturer on the art and cultural anthropology of Indonesia, he is the author of two books on Indonesian art and peoples and numerous scholarly articles. Lorraine V. Aragon is a research associate at the National Museum of Natural History. …