Posted 10 years ago
MissJennifer
(1 item)
I purchased this a number of years ago from an individual. I have no idea what it is. Basically, it is a piece of wood (bamboo?) carved and made into a cover and a back. Each piece has a hole drilled through the middle. Inside the "book" are "pages" also made out of a wood (bamboo?) again with a hole punched through each. The art seems to tell a story maybe of a warrior and is done in ink from what I can tell. The back of each "page" has some kind of script. I have no idea what language is. A string with a bead on the end has been strung through the hole on the pages and covers and on the other end of the string is some kind of Asian coin. I cannot identify it either. It has a square middle and four symbols around it. Any one have a guess as to what this item might be? Thanks!
That 'Barong' monster suggests Bali, Indonesia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barong_(mythology)
Check out this one:
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/omeka/items/show/2016
The language is Basa Bali ..... I think the pix are upside down.
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/balinese.htm
Thank you! I think you got it. It looks so much like book on the link for the Oregon state archives. I wonder if they make them for tourists or what?
With your clues, I was able to find out that they are probably written on palm leaf pages.
It is a tourist item. My partner had one similar bought in Bali, thirty years ago. The coin is a typical device used to keep them together. But the art work is great.