subject: Acknowledging the Carving Art of Jepara [print this page] Acknowledging the Carving Art of Jepara Acknowledging the Carving Art of Jepara
The Legend of Carving Art of Jepara
An expert in sculpture and painting, named Prabangkara lived in the Prabu Brawijaya period from Majapahit kingdom. Once upon a time, the king asked Prabangkara to create a painting of his queen as an expression of his love for the queen who was very beautiful and fascinating.
The painting of queen could be finished by Prabangkara perfectly and unluckily, this made King Brawijaya suspicious. Prabangkara with all his equipments were tied to a kite and then after the laying-up in the sky, the king cut the rope of the kite. Finally, Prabangkara fell in a village, known as Belakang Gunung, near the town of Jepara.
Until now, in the small village, there are a lot of high-quality carving craftsmen. However, related to the origin of carving, there is no historical data that supports it.
The History of Carving Art of Jepara
1. In the reign of Queen Kalinyamat, there was a governor named Sungging Badarduwung that came from Campa ( Cambodia ). He was apparently an expert in carving. Until now, his works can still be seen in Ancient Mosque and Mausoleum of Kalinyamat Queen that was built in XVI century.
2. The collapse of the Majapahit Kingdom has led to the spread of Hindu scholars and artists to various areas in the the first half of XVI century. In further development, the artists were still developing their expertise in the area by adjusting the identity. This reality emerged the various regional motifs, such as Majapahit, Bali, Mataram, Pajajaran, and Jepara.
