Raden Mas Sajid (20th Century)

Javanese wayang figures, from all walks of life, around a gunungan

signed and annotated 'Sajid. / .Solo.' (lower left); annotated 'Kanton Bungah Trusing Ati' (lower centre)

acrylic on canvas, unframed, 99x148 cm

Provenance: -Collection Dr Hedi Hinzler, Leiden, the Netherlands.

This painting in Javanese wayang style is by Raden Mas Sajid, a nobleman, family of the Mangkunegara sultanate. Raden Mas Sajid has written many books and treatises on wayang. He designed wayang figures, made wayang paintings and drawings, and was also a dalang. This painting shows the heads of many Javanese wayang figures, from all walks of life, on either side of a tree figure, the gunungan, in the centre. Below this gunungan is written in Javanese script: 'wayang purwa', meaning: wayang made first, first started. This refers to the fact that the wayang made of leather was there first. Below, in the centre, is another text in Latin script: Katon bungah trusing ati', meaning: happiness radiates from the heart.