4 - Kediri and Singhasāri: Stone Sculpture from the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Century

Summary

Many monolithic stone statues created during the Singhasāri period in the thirteenth century and some sculptures dated to the early fourteenth century were carved with a broad range of unique textile patterns. Almost all the statues were carved from a single piece of stone, either standing or seated against a backslab. This period in history gave rise to King Kṛtanāgara, the last of the Singhasāri kings. This extensive collection of statues was commissioned under his reign between 1269 and 1292 ce, the more significant part of which was placed at the Caṇḍi Singosari complex or at Caṇḍi Jago. This chapter illustrates all of the known sculptures that were carved with textile patterns. Where known, their places of origin are shown in map 4. These sculptures represent only a fraction, however, of all the sculptures made during this period—the remainder were generally of an inferior quality and exhibited no textile patterns.

There are little remains of importance from the Kediri period, from the mid-eleventh century to 1222 CE, except for the seated sculpture known as the Boro Gaṇeśa. This giant statue is arguably the sculpture that has been most frequently published in Southeast Asian textile and art history books. In my opinion, the Gaṇeśa does not fit into the Singosari style. This is evident from the position of the feet together and the rather stiff body. According to Edi Sedyawati, he fits more closely with the end of the Kediri period, or, as she puts it, “the long empty interval between the last known Kediri inscription and the first Singhasāri inscription” (1994, p. 116). This therefore is a Kediri “style” statue with a Singhasāri date, and it is categorized as “Kediri” along with the Arcā Leluhur at the MNI. The rough andesite stone of the Boro Gaṇeśa results in a cruder form of carving; this establishes that he was made in a different region at a different time to the rest of the Singosari style sculptures. In contrast, the Arcā Leluhur is carved from a smooth and beautiful white andesite stone known as tuff, and is of a very different texture and quality.

The position of East Java within the interregional trade during this period might aid in our consideration of how some of the textile patterns in this chapter arrived there.