Indonesian Terracotta Miniature Figures 26x Dutch Colonial Era Antique Painted Clay Statues 1920's

A rare collection of 26 painted terracotta miniature figures from different classes and backgrounds of the Dutch-Indonesian colonial era. One of the figures is marked: ‘Keradjinan Tegalredjo’ (translation: Craft from Tegalredjo). 
Ca. 1920, Tegalrejo (Central-Java, Dutch East Indies - now Indonesia -)

Some of the figures are marked, stamped, signed and numbered, others have stickers with writing. The different classes depicted here vary from Priyayi to farmer, batik worker, desa lady, hadj pilgrim, cook, musician, student and figures from the wayang wong theatre. 

The Netherlands East Indies was far away, large and culturally diverse. One of the ways to make this complex society understandable to a larger public in the mother country was to organise exhibitions. Models and miniatures were an important means of exhibition. These objects, made to scale, depicted recognisable scenes from daily life. It were primarily Indonesian artisans who were commissioned by the coloniser to depict their fellow Indonesians for an overseas public they did not know. Traditional costumes, social and political authorities, festivals and rituals, as well as proas, houses and household effects, mosques, bridges and railways - everything was meticulously copied. The artisans thus contributed to the proud self-image of the Netherlands as a “great power and progressive coloniser”. At the same time, the models created an often static picture of the native society, presented in a clearly directed and regulated manner. This manner of presentation and visualisation was common and popular in the period between 1860 and 1940. 

Ref: 
For figures sharing a similar material cultural idea (as stated above), but made from wood, see: van Dijk, Janneke - The Netherlands East Indies at the Tropenmuseum, p 155, 156, 157.

Condition:
9 out of 26 figures with visible damages (chips, broken pieces, five figures with heads broken off and glued back on)

Dimensions:
Heights vary between 22 cm and 10 cm.

The collection is only sold in its entirety, not individually.

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Code: A00282