Just like stone statues, Bali wood carvings are found everywhere on the island. You can see wooden statues placed as decorations in temple complexes. However, these handicrafts can also be found in decorated doors, in beams of buildings, in accessories such as bowls, spoons and in furniture.
The history
Just like any other form of art on the island wood carvings were only found as decorations in temples, pavilions, shrines, and palaces. Statues of demons, gods, and heroes would be made out of wood or they were carved in wooden panels for religious purposes only.
In the Balinese living quarters, none of these decorations were found until foreign travelers around the 1920’s took interest in this beautiful art form.
This triggered the Balinese wood-carver to create new forms of carvings that were highly appreciated by foreigners.
Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet, two European artists who had already influenced the changes in Balinese paintings and dances supported the idea of creating wood carvings as a source of extra income.
This led to the start of the ‘Modern Style’. Carvers would create statues of daily life, some realistic while others are very funny. Woodcarvers would copy each other leading to the quick development of this new style. Ironically though this led to a decline in the quality of wood carvings.
Again Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet stepped intervened. Together with the royal family, they created the artists’ association ‘Pita Maha’. All types of artists would go to this association. They would present their work in order to receive feedback and to keep standards high.
This way more artists were stimulated to create their own style resulting in different types of wood carvings.
Modern Times
Today you can find many different styles in Bali. One of the most popular is the ‘Elongated Style’ which uses fine hardwood which is smoothly sanded. The statue has soft contours and it keeps its natural wooden color. The most famous wood carvers who’ve created work in this type of style are from the village of Mas.
Other styles are the ‘Driftwood Style’. Parts of the wood are carved into animals, demons, and plants while the rest of the wood remains untouched.
Many of the artists find their inspiration from abroad and mostly incorporate Chinese and Indian influences into their works.
If you want to see more different styles of wood carvings and learn about the famous Balinese artists who have created them then you can visit the Puri Lukisan museum in Ubud where everything is beautifully displayed. Besides wood carving, this museum also displays many other forms of Indonesian art.
For those who love to shop for high-quality wood carvings you can find these in art shops and galleries while at the market there is a huge selection of souvenirs to take home. Great places to do some shopping for the latter option are for instance at the markets in Ubud and Sukawati along the road to Ceking.
