Kris stands on Bali belong to a category called 'togog' meaning free standing sculptures. Usually these stands depict mythological heroes, gods, demons, sages or priests and were placed near the entrance of a palace or nobleman's house to receive the kris of a male visitor. In former times a man was dressed when he wore his kris at the back. Favoured stands were also in use of the kris owner, although special and valuable krisses were most likely stored outside view. Kris stands can also be placed on an altar in the family temple of prominent people. I such cases the kris serve as replacement for a person or a temporary abode for an ancestor or god. The present item is rare in that it does not represent a hero or god, but a naked young woman. Nudity or semi-nakedness is not uncommon in Balinese culture, but as a kris stand it is quite unique. In this case the woman is depicted completely nude, without adornments and the long hair flowing over her back. The hair is typically not tied into a bun, indicating her status of seniorship, but instead denoting her age on the brink of maturity. Upon closer inspection we see tiny wooden pegs driven into the wood around the now visible pudenda, most probably to attach pubic hair. Traces of white in the hair may indicate that she originally wore flower heads. Her eyes are not fixated on the kris she holds in front, but instead she gazes into infinity as if the artist wanted to emphasize the current condition in which she is depicted, completely nude. We know of kris holders depicted as (semi-) naked toddlers on their first anniversary, as for instance one held at the Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden, inv. nr. 7082-S-4403 shows. These stands probably allude to a certain condition in life, a rite of passage, being a lesser known category in Balinese sculpture. Concerning the age, the present item with its worn surface as a result of handling over a long period of time may well be assigned to the second half of the 19th or early 20th century. (A more elaborated report in Dutch on this kris stand is available on request)

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