Featured What is this Tribal painting on Leather?

I acquired this in a bulk from a collector's estate. At first I thought it was a Bali shadow landscape, but then the figures themselves don't resemble that too well. They are exaggerated cartoon, but I'm confused as to the origin. It's in an expensive frame so I assume it's a rare item. My quick research resulted in Turkish, Iranian, and even Indian, yet neither is exactly similar either. The painting is on a thick leather, no other markings found. It appears old, generally if Bali it would be close to 75-100, but I know leather work can be misleading, so it could be 1-200 years old as far as I know if not older. Let me know what you think!

 

I do not know.
My feeling is early 20th century.

Observations.
Colors of Green, Gold and Red.
A cannon, a battle spear, protected by a wall of lances, no other weapons.
There are two men in white, bottom row on the right, they have sashes, and one has a shield?
The middle horseman, is he wearing a different shirt.
Also caps of Red or Green.

 

It's in an expensive frame so I assume it's a rare item.

or a sentimental item........ someone wanted to hang, but protect...!

 

I think it's Indonesian, depicting the Dutch during the Indonesian National Revolution
https://www.indoshop.nl/indisch_antiek/wayang.html

 

Or is it the Indonesian army, @Any Jewelry , as they seem to have the Indonesian flag with them?

 

Very nice find @APainter , and you were very close with Balinese. It is Javanese. Most Wayang Kulit (buffalo hide Wayang puppet) is Javanese, Bali is only a small island.

Btw, Javanese art may be non-Western but that doesn't mean it is tribal. Very little non-Western art is tribal, because tribes are small so not many people live in a tribal community. Java, for instance, has been ruled by kings in a very hierarchical society for over 1500 years.

Yes, it is a Wayang Revolusi piece, depicting the Indonesian army. Officers on horseback are also of the period, because the Indonesian military hadn't been able to lay their hands on many Jeeps yet.

The one you posted is also very nice, because it shows the army being led by mythical characters, a reference to the sacred battles of the ancient Hindu epics.

 

A bit of the background of Wayang Revolusi:
Wayang plays are performed for all social strata, but with differences in quality of the puppets, etc.
There were itinerant dalangs, puppeteers, who travelled from village to village with their puppet sets. It was often the only entertainment villagers had, so dalangs were always welcomed with open arms.
This system was used by the revolutionaries of what came to be the Indonesian War of Independence, to 'sell' their fight to people in rural areas.
The Independence movement was started by young people, many of whom had studied at universities in the Netherlands, and among them part-European young people. They had very little contact with Javanese villagers.
The villagers had just survived a devastating Japanese occupation and the resulting abject poverty and famine, and just wanted to grow new crops and build their lives again. Many of them were not interested in another war, although others wanted to rid the country of the Dutch colonisers.
Another complication in rallying support was that some of the prominent freedom fighters, like the later president Sukarno, had collaborated with the hated Japanese.
But a good way to reach the hearts of the country people was to present the revolution in a way they enjoyed, through Wayang theatre. And Wayang Revolusi was born.

 

fantastic and interesting explanation!

I think if you have a lot of money any artwork you have is going in a nice frame. It doesn’t necessarily have to be rare at all. It could be purely decorative and it’s going in a nice frame. I’d say a nice frame is a good sign but far from reliably indicative of rarity or value.

 

I once had a couple frame a piece of drywall that had a butt "print" in it from where their son crashed into the wall. They said he was graduating as an architect and they were giving it to him as a joke. Hundreds of dollars but they didn't care.

I've framed puzzles, tourist prints (so much papyrus!), child art, sentimental but worthless, actual trash, questionable artist's work for themselves/their shows...

A fancy frame can be a lead, but not a guarantee. At least if you pay low enough, you've got an interesting frame! ....that might be a weird size to use...

 

Wow Thank you very much!! That is very detailed, I've been puzzled by this piece for years. You are truly experts here, and how quickly everything is solved is amazing!! Indeed a very rich history, I used "tribal" as I couldn't pinpoint the origin, definitely not tribal indeed.

 

Wow and detailed history at that!! This is Amazing!! Thank you very much. So in a way it is a propaganda piece? Fascinating. So based on this I assume it dates to the late 40s around the Revolution, or could it date earlier near when the Independence movement began around 1908?

 

in either case the frame is from the late 80's or after..

 

Yes, that's true.

 

Yes, it is.

This is a post-WWII piece, made when there was actual fighting. Although the freedom movement started much earlier, there was no nation-wide uprising. (Earlier freedom fights and uprisings were only by one specific kingdom or ethnic group.)

After the Japanese capitulation, unorganised and very violent fighting broke out directed mostly against Westerners, Chinese, and people of mixed origin. The newly declared Indonesian republic sought to organize the many groups of fighters, often an impossible task, certainly during the first years.
By the time the Netherlands had brought in troops in 1947 there was a more organised Indonesian army, although there were still rogue bands of youngsters. The war of independence against the Dutch army lasted until 1949.

So I would date your Wayang Revolusi 1947-1949. A testimony of an important time in Asian history.