75/926 Prints drawings and paintings Wayang figures in sexual position ten others in the back
- Sm. dam. spot in upper margin.
= Nicely coloured, adorned with gold. "This art form [lukisan kaca], in which paint is applied onto the back surface of a piece of glass and viewed from the front, was first imported from Europe to Asia in the eighteenth century. (...) It is not known how or when reverse painting arrived in Java, Bali, or other islands of Indonesia, though a number of theories exist. (...) Most of the earliest paintings depict wayang figures, closely resembling tlawungan in their composition, although there are also a number representing military conflicts. (...) In other parts of Java [outside of the pasar malam (market in cities)], lukisan kaca made in the last decades of colonialism often depicted contemporary scenes. A very popular subject for central Javanese lukisan kaca to date are the punakawan (clown-servants) of wayang kulit dressed up in the traditional garb of the priyayi elite and partaking in modern diversions. (...) In Cirebon, in contrast, the lukisan kaca form until relatively recently has been used almost exlusively to depict traditional subjects - wayang figures and scenes, batik motifs, Islamic symbols such as the Buran and macan Ali, verses from the Qur'an." (M.I. Cohen, "Traditional and Popular Painting in Modern Java." Archipel 69, no. 1 (2005): 5-38, pp. 31-32).