Historical information
When the Balinese King of West Lombok was defeated by the Dutch in November 1894, after nearly two and a half centuries of Balinese rule, a collection of beautifully illustrated lontar leaves was found, among other documents, in the palace library at Cakranegara, capital of the Balinese Kingdom in Lombok. This collection was published in a book called ‘Dampati Lalangon’ meaning “The delight of the spouses”. It is a rare example of a lontar, containing illustrations but no text. It is an allegorical story about a royal couple, the queen representing the godess of wisdom, Saraswati. The illustrations are of a mystical and erotic nature
Physical description
Paperback brown covered book containing eleven plates. Each plate covers 2 pages across and depicts 6 pages of illustrated lontar leaves. Lontar is a type of palm-leaf manuscript from Indonesia. The contents of this book show a rare example of a lontar, containing etched illustrations but no text.
The title and preface of this book are in Dutch language.
Inscriptions & markings
Front cover and title page have the insciptions: Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen -Dampati Lalangon - 11 platen naar Balische lontar-illustraties. Tweede uitgave van het "Darmo Lelangon" (1912) There is a circular stamp with the words "Batavia's Genootschap" above a stylized tree and rural scene below which are the words "opgerrgt 24 priz 1778"
References
- What is lontar This site gives an explanation on what "lontar" is.
- Introduction and notes The notes give descriptions of each illustration from leave 1a to 36b. The notes and the introduction are in Indonesian language.
- Notes - continued Descriptions of leaves 65b to 83b -- 83a and 83b are written as 38a and 38b
- Notes - continued Describe leaves 1a to 63b
