A large royal Balinese gem-set gold 'bokor', an offering bowl on a wooden stand

Karangasem, circa 1900, the bowl inscribed Ida Bagus Gelgel Ring Puri Gede

The repoussé-worked gold bokor is set with multiple gemstones, such as rubies, spinels, and sapphires. It has an extremely refined, detailed repoussé decoration with chased floral and scrollwork embellishments on the raised rim. It is placed on a simple wood base, connected with three silver split pins. The base bears a handwritten text reading Puri Gede ning A. Kresna.

Diam. 28.4 x H. 6 cm
Weight: 684 grams

Provenance:
Puri Gede Temple, Karangasem
Collection A. Kresna, Bali; Collection of a Dutch gentleman residing in Bali (gifted to him when he returned to the Netherlands in 1968); thence by descent
Purchased from the above by a distinguished Dutch collector (name is known to us) in the 1970s

The inscribed text on the bottom of the bowl reads in Latin script, ‘Ida Bagus Gelgel Ring Puri Gede’. This inscription could identify ownership or dedication to a nobleman named Ida Bagus Gelgel, associated with the Puri Gede. The handwritten text at the bottom of the wood stand could point towards a later owner named A. Kresna.

Puri Gede is a royal temple complex in East Bali, opposite Puri Agung Karangasem, the Karangasem family temple complex. Some structures within this temple complex date back to the Dutch colonial period. The present bowl was probably gifted or used by the Karangasem royal family for offerings to deified ancestors to honour and appease them. Such bowls were also used in ceremonial gatherings, such as communal tobacco chewing, where different containers were placed inside the bokor as a sirih set for betel nut chewing. The large size of the bowl further argues that it was part of large ceremonies and gatherings within royal circles.

Bowls of such size and quality are extremely scarce. A comparable bowl can be found in the Dutch Royal Collection (inv. no. MU-3615). In 1908, Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962) received various tokens of honour (punia) from the regent of Karangasem, I Gusti Gde Djelantik, upon his retirement from office, including the golden bowl. “Upon reaching old age, he wished, in accordance with Hindu tradition, to spend his final years in peaceful contemplation, far from the turmoil of the world. This significant event in his life was accompanied by three days of dewa festivals and the presentation of a tribute to Her Majesty the Queen, which was reciprocated with a gift - a fountain in the pleasure retreat of Sekoete.”