Bali Travels

A high density of craftsmen and artisans are in Bali. You name it and you can find it here: wood carving, stone carving, bone & ivory carving, silver & gold smiths, basket weavers, terracotta, ceramics, kites?

Woodcarving
Traditional Balinese woodcarving has always been of religious subjects. In the 1930’s though a new type of carving developed in Mas near Ubud catering to the tourist market. Today, the best Balinese carving galleries are still there. One of the oldest is the Ida Bagus Njana, Ida Bagus Tilem Gallery where you will still be able to see a number of carvings from the earlier period - these are not for sale. Quality is good and prices are sky high. If you search among a number of the less famous galleries in the area, you might be able to find a piece by the same carver for a fraction of what it would cost you in an expensive gallery. Remember too that if you come with a guide, most galleries will pay him a significant commission on your purchases. Another important area for wood carving is on the road up to Sebatu. This is the region where most of the Antik Baru or new antiques are made. There are sometimes genuine old carvings to be found but not in these villages.
Dirt and brown shoe polish are cheap and if you want it to look beat up, they will be happy to oblige. The important thing is that you find something you like for a price you can afford. There are also numerous other Balinese standards like wooden banana trees, flowers and the type of things that might often be found at cheaper prices, when they are on sale at Cost Plus! Also check out the enormous Garuda statues made in this area ever since the first President of Indonesia starting giving them away to foreign dignitaries as gifts.

Stone Carving
The preferred material for stone carving is known as volcanic tuff that resembles the color of cement when it is newly carved. Many visitors to Bali assume that they are cast, not hand made. To see the truth with your own eyes, go visit the bend in the road in Batubulan which has long been touted as being the village of stone carvers. There are several other places where stone carving takes place. You will find traditional Balinese statues albeit often sterile and a host of “kreasi baru” or new creations catering to the orders of those who came before you, including Balinese versions of angels, to busts of Beethoven. As large pieces of tuff are becoming difficult to find and expensive, smaller ones are often pounded up and mixed with cement to make blocks which are then carved. If the mixture is wrong, your sculpture might disintegrate when you get it back home. Moss and lichen love to grow on tuff, so your statue might already be covered with it when you buy it.
Remember that stone is porous and that in specially cold climates could split in freezing weather. One should also know that many of the large statues of Hindu gods and goddesses carved in hard dark pitted stone are actually not from Bali, but Java. The stone is andesite, the same. material of which the Borobudur Temple was carved. It is very durable. Unfortunately few of these carvings, despite their size, display the grace or beauty of the originals they seek to replicate. Never believe anyone who tells you that they have the original Borobudur head or statue for sale. These simply do not exist and if they did, they would be highly illegal.

Silver and Gold Smiths
The village of Celuk is now lined with galleries all selling silver ware. They are typical Balinese work using granulation and a process of attaching gold to the surface of silver. Today the industry is very sophisticated and includes everything from classical pieces to modern designs that you would not even guess were made in Bali. The silver business has grown so large in the last few years that many of the smiths are Javanese working for Balinese bosses. Most of the silver that you will see in the galleries is also probably from Java. If you are looking for a good price, the farther you wander off from the main road, the lower the prices will be. The price of silver should be determined by the weight and work. A fair price at the place of manufacture is around Rp 1000 per gram, though this is only a guideline and not a rule. Most silver is sterling. Be careful of vendors on the beach, though, who have been known to sell plate for the price of the real thing. As for gold you will most probably have to order it. The only exceptions are the goldsmith shops of Denpasar catering to the Balinese themselves. Here you buy gold by weight.

Baskets
There are many types of woven baskets made of bamboo, rattan and other fibers. In the vicinity of Ubud, large baskets are woven of pandan leaves with designs resembling American Indian motifs, in Tenganan village, which is more famous for its Geringsing textile, extremely fine and expensive baskets that are woven of a type of grass found growing on the banks of rivers. There are also numerous other types of baskets such as those used to carry fighting cocks. Many of these can be found in the market of Denpasar. Two other popular types of baskets found in Bali are those from the island of Lombok to the east ‘and fine rattan weaving from Borneo.

Others
These include wood puppets, shadow puppets, terracotta figurines, ceramics, large pots from Lombok and Banten West Borneo, primitive statues from the eastern islands, brass bowls, bronze statues and other decorative items. Furniture has become very big business in recent years. With few exceptions, it all comes from Java and is made of teak wood. The best is made of old recycled teak wood which can be recognized by its rich deep color as opposed to young teak which tends to be yellow. There are very few original pieces left anymore, so take a good look before you pay a premium price for a married piece. In furniture it is always a good idea to look underneath and in the corners carefully, for it is there you will discover how well made or old the piece is. Remember that when you buy a few large pieces that the cost of shipping can be more than the buying price. As for antiques, this is now a very flexible word in Indonesia and in Bali. Oftentimes, the best antiques are to be found among simple items that have never really caught the attention of those in search of more important pieces. Usually the longer the story about its origin, the more doubtful its authenticity. There are numerous villages and people whose livelihood is based on making new things look old. Bronzes, for example, are treated in everything from battery acid to mildly corrosive leaves. Remember that just because something looks old and the seller seems to be a great guy who wants to give you the bargain of the century, it does not mean anything. Like everything, the best advice is that if you love and can afford it, buy with no illusions. If you don’t know what you are doing, then seek expert advice. You will probably save yourself a major headache. Shopping for art, artifacts and crafts is supposed to be fun and Bali is one of the best places in the world to find something beautiful for yourself or somebody that you love

Fabric clothing play an important part in the daily life and ceremonies of Balinese. An interesting fact about traditional Balinese clothing is that most consist of a simple rectangular piece of cloth which is then elegantly wrapped around the body.

Textiles not only serve as protection against the cold and sun but are also a symbol indicating the status and well being of the wearer. The women of royal families always vied with each other to make the most beautiful creations using sumptuous materials including silk imported from China and gold and silver thread. Further many textiles were believed to be imbued with magical powers which could protect the wearer against wicked influences. They could also serve, as intermediaries with the supernatural world in religious rituals such as cremations, where hundreds of costly meters of cloth would be turned into ashes to accompany the soul of the dead to the other world.

Some if not many Balinese women keep and practice weaving and the secret knowledge of these textiles, including the ingredients of certain dyes and a rich compendium of sacred patterns. Then, one of the most important duties of a mother would be to band down her knowledge to her daughter to continue the heritage.

The followings are the most popular traditional cloths.

lkat, from the word ‘to tie knots’, is an ancient technique whereby a motif is dyed into the threads of a cloth before it is woven. There are three types of Ikat, two of which are found in Bali. The first is warp ikat usually woven in silk. This Ikat was found in many parts of Bali and usually used to make ’saput’, the outer sarongs of Balinese traditional costume, or scarves worn on ceremonial occasions. The design and motifs of these have been profoundly influenced by the Patola textiles of India. Like the Patola the ground color is almost always a deep red. Except the Balinese, with their typical creativity would take the more abstract patterns of the Patola and also create new variations. Many of the best were fanciful creations with wayang puppets or other mythological figures taken from Balinese legends and myths. Singaraja in north Bali was always renowned as home of the best of these. While most warp ikat is silk, one finds in Bali a sacred cloth usually said to be woven on the island of Nusa Penida that is a warp cotton Ikat. This is the ‘cepuk’ which considered to have powerful protective magic.

One of the most famous sort of ikat in Bali is the mysterious ‘Geringsing’ woven only in the tiny Bali Aga village of Tenganan in East Bali. Here the ikat pattern is created in both the warp and weft threads. Known as double ikat, the process is frightfully difficult and requires both expertise and patience to align the two patterns. The Geringsing is considered sacred throughout Bali and has always been very rare and expensive. Many stories have been told about it, such as human blood is necessary to obtain its deep rich color but many of these are dubious. Old pieces sometimes come up for sale but these usually are inevitably damaged. If you are a collector looking for one, Tenganan is the worst place to start as the villagers would never sell you their sacred cloth and the pieces they have are usually bought from the outside to be sold at outrageous prices to unsuspecting tourists.

Today there are any number of places specializing in new Ikat cloths. On the main road just as you enter Gianyar there are numerous ikat factories with hundreds of women still weaving by hand. Sidemen, on the way to Besakih Temple, also has a famous factory. You don’t have to go to the factory though, to find the cloth of your dreams as there are countless shops selling them as well. If you are looking for a bargain, try Denpasar market. Today ikat is rarely woven silk but rather from cotton or rayon. The colors are usually very bright and many of the motifs are new. A way to test quality, you can see if the colors run or if the cloth shrinks before going in too deeply. If you want to buy new Geringsing, it can be found in Tenganan but they are seldom as beautiful as the antique cloths and often nearly as expensive. ‘Songket’ or supplemental weft is a technique by which gold or silver threads are woven into a cloth into beautiful patterns. Antique cloths are sometimes to be found if you are willing to pay the price. These are as with the ikat usually woven in silk and rarely in good condition. New Songkets of various qualities are still woven in such places such as Klungkung.

The quality usually is reflected in the price. Cheaper prices usually mean that the Songkets is have loosely woven. The best ones can cost hundreds dollars. Songket is often used in combination with ikat. It usually comes in 2 meter lengths used as a sarong by Balinese women in ceremonies and in long scarves for the same purpose. To find some just ask a Balinese girl where she buys her festive gear. Several other traditional cloths are also found. One is called ‘Prada’, where pure gold leaf is attached to an old batik cloth. This technique has died out. Today the Prada cloths found usually use imitation gold paint, sort of polyester that are used in fans and hotel decorations. Most Balinese dance costumes are also made of Prada. A good place to buy it is in the Sukawati art market. Another old technique which is dying out is ‘Pelangi’ or tie & dye. By tying off sections of a cloth to prevent it from coming in contact with the dye, beautiful patterns are created usually in silk.

There are many other types of traditional textiles including loosely woven scarves and a host of simple to complex checked sarongs. You will surely notice the ubiquitous black and white checked sarongs wrapped around the guardian statues. Known as ‘kamben Poleng’, they are thought to represent the polar forces of the universe. Many people who come to Bali ask for Balinese batik. In fact batik was never really made in Bali, until recent times, and even today most batik still comes from Java. If you are looking for traditional batik sarongs you can go to the market in Denpasar where a whole array can be found. You will need to study them though as there are cheap print imitations, batik made with stamps (cap) or real hand-drawn batik (tulis). The prices can vary enormously. As for Balinese batik this usually refers to the large colorful bed spreads and sarongs with designs of anything from Cleopatra to the Sun and the Moon. Shops selling these can be found throughout Bali.