François-Laurent Rolard

Private Collection, Europe

Paris, Village Javanese, Exposition Universelle, 6 May - 31 October 1889, Mr. Bernard

The sculpture is in good overall condition as viewed.
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The present lot is an extremely rare, bronze sculpture of a Javanese dancer in a wide-legged stance, bearing a relaxed and assured expression as she poses in her performance attire. This masterpiece was cast long before well-known European artists came to Indonesia in the early 20^th century and immortalized romanticized images of the exotic islands. Hailing from an epoch so scarcely represented in the history of fine art in Indonesia, this sculpture is not only inherently valuable but is also historically significant for its presence at the 1889 l’Exposition Universelle de Paris, a registered world fair.

World fairs are large public exhibitions that vary in character and are held in different cities across the world. Typically focused on trade, technological inventions and advancements, these expositions were platforms where different cultures converged to share the best of their people, and to provide insight to their various living experiences. The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a world fair held in Paris, France from 6 May to 31 October and was an event considered symbolic of the beginning of the French Revolution. The celebrated and much awaited icon of the fair was the Eiffel Tower, a structure that would later go on to becoming the most symbolic image France itself, but for the moment served as the entrance arch to the exhibition. Workers had toiled tirelessly to complete the necessary safety measures to allow patrons to pass through the structure.

This particular work was featured in the Village Javanese, a private exhibition organized by a Mr. Bernard that recreated a traditional Javanese kampong. Dancing girls were brought over from Java, Indonesia, clad in vibrant indigenous fabrics and adorned with jewels, precious stones, aureoles of feathers around their heads. They evidently came from the protected harem of Prince Pranger, and one of these supple maidens in particular, featured in the photographs that accompany this lot, was the muse for this sculpture itself. The charming girls performed to live gamelan music, and were described by the Blue Guide Le Figaro and Le Petit Figaro as resembling “statuettes of an unknown civilization” and allude to the clear inspiration for the piece at hand.

Visually, Javanese Dancer is simple and lovely, a bronze cast of a singular female form. It represents both a mark of Indonesian culture as well as a window into a preserved, significant moment in time – it is an artifact from an ambassadorial exhibition at a prestigious fair that would’ve attracted visitors from all around the world, used to showcase the best of what Indonesia had to offer.

This lot is accompanied with a copy of Journal des Voyages, no. 630, 4 August 1889 as well as original photographs of the four Javanese girls who attended the exposition, one of whom is the muse of this sculpture.